|
Review Navigator   FeaturesReviews
 | Flogging Molly / Street Dogslive in Asbury Park2007 live show  Review by: Torgo See others by this writer floggingmolly.com (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on October 2nd 2007
Well, even though this was technically a festival, I only came for two bands: Street Dogs and Flogging Molly. Immediately I looked at the schedule and noticed the Street Dogs were set to play for an hour. True, they have three albums, but they usually play supporting roles and I don’t think they play an hour even during their headlining gigs -- 45 minutes seems about right. They came out to a cool reception and a half-empty lot but their energy and the fact that dozens of people were filing in every minute made their show completely different at its finish.
Dave King was his usual talkative self, and just couldn’t get over the fact there was a Coors truck in the back of the lot (he would revisit this over three times). The band was professional and played songs at blistering speed, noticeably faster than their record counterparts, yet somehow sacrificed little melody. Bridget even broke strings on two different fiddles, and had to put some whistle songs earlier in the set so they could patch up the violins. Like previously mentioned, Flogging Molly doesn’t change their set list around much, and it’s probably best not to see than more than once a year or so unless you’re a diehard. However, they do split their set list evenly between all their albums, which can’t be said by most bands. Mike McColgan came out to do backups for "Within a Mile of Home," and after "What's Left of the Flag" the band quickly exited the stage. Dave came back with just an acoustic guitar, and after giving a shout out to The Pete from the Bouncing Souls and probably mentioning Guinness being better than Coors, he went into "Black Friday Rule." There are probably better songs of theirs to be turned acoustically ("The Worst Day Since Yesterday?") but the change of pace was welcomed, and he had some fun being able to hear the crowd shout the lyrics back at him. The rest of the band came back in the middle of the song and we knew the show was winding down. Before the last song, I noticed how happy the band was as this was their last show for a long time (Nathan looked especially pleased with a wide smile and a beer). Dave mentioned they were about to hop a plane to Ireland and record their fairly long-awaited fourth studio full-length with the newly re-anointed Matt Hensley. They played a quick "Seven Deadly Sins" and all was said and done (couldn’t think of something less cliché). Street punks, big drunken Irish guys, and even bigger jocks all left happy and sweaty. Set list:
People who liked this also liked:    Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
UPDATE: They played it. I bought a coke for Mike and a beer for Tobe instead of the entire club. Was a Fair Trade to me. Can't wait for the Street Dogs' set with Tiger Army this Saturday. If they play "Katie Bar The Door" I'm buying drinks for everyone in the club. A few months ago, when Flogging Molly played in Ft. Lauderdale with Chuck Ragan, a former student of mine decided to tag along. He had never been to a show before, never heard of Flogging Molly, even. I will tell you what is funny, is that Street Dogs are constantly referred to as a Boston band when it is made up of 3 dudes that live in Texas, one in Colorado and one in LA. yes, starland still makes you pay to park, I usually just park at the american legion anyways. the only good thing about starland is unlike some medium-large venues, they allow you to crowd surf and the bouncers arent always complete dicks. but starland always oversells shows (cough streetlight cough) Krome was great, didn't it get shut down because someone got stabbed in front of it? krome was the best! i was not a huge fan of birch hill. starland's ok- too corporate though, do they still make people pay to park? i mean it just sucks, cuz alot of bands will only play there. we need Krome and Birchhill back. remember when the stone pony had DOA? that was awesome Flogging Molly puts on the bast live show ever.......and I've literally seen hundreds of bands. If you get the chance, don't miss it. Here's a rumor. At the Street Dogs show last night, Mike said that their new album is gonna be on Hellcat Records. Starland isn't terrible, but I won't lie, I miss the birchhill. The venue was awful and you left smelling awful, but it was always a good time after leaving. Flogging Molly are THE most fun live band I've ever seen... Saw them after Emery and before Story Of The Year (??) But a giant circle pit full of dancing and jigging meant for a guaranteed good night... Seven Deadly Sins is the best! (left my vomiting buddy in the foyer to head back into the mosh for that one) starland ballroom fucking blows two awesome live bands |
