Flogging Molly Make It Anthemic at the Fillmore Silver Spring - 9/25/23

Dave King, singer and band leader for Flogging Molly, has a knack for doing two things: 1) leading an incredible performance, and 2) putting together a touring line-up that can’t be beat. It’s a fact. I’ve seen Flogging Molly a handful of times now and each time it feels like the best part of a festival. You come for the headliner, but it’s the whole experience that pushes a good show into a great one. And on Tuesday night at a packed Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland, you couldn’t ask for a better way to start the week.

At a crowded Fillmore Silver Spring, Flogging Molly was going by LA hardcore punk veterans The Bronx and alt country cowpunks, The Vandoliers. I hadn’t witnessed either before, but both bands came to the stage with incredible energy. The Vandoliers charged right out of the gate that went hard and finished with a great cover of The Proclaimers’ hit, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”

Then it was The Bronx who have the enviable reputation of, according to The Guardian, one of 30 bands to see before you die. And as they hit the stage, it was clear how they got that reputation. The hardcore influenced rock went full force and even from the stage and into the crowd as singer Matt Caughthran got into the middle of the dancefloor at one point, surrounded by the crowd.

Flogging Molly’s bread and butter is its live show, buoyed by a seven-piece band that includes King, Bridget Regan on fiddle; Matt Hensley on accordion, Nathen Maxwell on bass, Dennis Casey on guitar, Spencer Swain taking up the mandolin/guitar/banjo, and drummer Mike Alonso. In interviews, King has mentioned the album being secondary to the live show, but with the newest record, The Anthem, there’s an energy that comes across that’s palpable. Maybe it’s coming out of the Covid hole we’ve all been living in or it could be the return of Steve Albini (Shellac, Big Black) at the recording console – the first since 2002’s Drunken Lullabies. Whatever it is, it’s a beautifully passionate return that translates perfectly to that beer soaked stage.

Kicking off the set in style, as the song “Molly Malone” played over the speakers, Dave King strode to the mic to sing the last few words before launching into the popular “Drunken Lullabies.” And what an entrance! As the band seemed to be rocketing along, King – guitar in hand – raced about from one side of the stage to the next across the front of the monitors to reach out over the stage to the crowd.

“This is a song about being a legend. Except this legend was from Dublin. It was my father, so fuck you,” Dave King laughed as the band began “The Likes of You Again” that begins with a strummed acoustic guitar but soon turns into a rollicking electric jig.

If you ever want to see what a master class in connecting with a crowd looks like, there’s no better example than seeing a Dave King speaking to a packed house like he’s sharing a table with each person in the crowd. And each member of the band seemed to take delight in getting a reaction out of the crowd.

Watch the video for “Drunken Lullabies – Live from Electrical Audio” on YouTube:

At any Flogging Molly show there’s some friendly ribbing too. Pointing out someone in the crowd, King started. “Usually I dedicate this song to my fellow red-heads out there tonight but I’m gonna dedicate it to somebody way worse off than being a red-head and that’s a fucking Liverpool fan right there,” he laughed along with the fan. Further pointing out, “Here’s what I don’t get. He’s in the front fucking row!” as they played “Whistles the Wind.”

Through “The Hand of John L. Sullivan” and “Devil’s Dance Floor” to newer songs like “These Times Have Got Me Drinking” and “A Song of Liberty,” which they dedicated to the people of Ukraine, the tunes never faltered and that incredible energy never wavered. Even the slower songs seemed to be busting at the seems, ready to let loose at any moment.

Another great set by a veteran band that shows no signs of slowing. Having seen them a few times now, I can say Flogging Molly are one of the best live acts to witness. They continue their tour through the US, wrapping up in Florida.

The setlist included:

Drunken Lullabies
(No More) Paddy’s Lament
The Likes of You Again
Swagger
(Try) Keep the Man Down
Whistles the Wind
The Hand of John L. Sullivan
A Song of Liberty
Tobacco Island
The Croppy Boy ’98
Float
Life Begins and Ends (but Never Fails)
Devil’s Dance Floor
Crushed (Hostile Nations)
Seven Deadly Sins
These Times Have Got Me Drinking / Tripping Up the Stairs
If I Ever Leave This World Alive
What’s Left of the Flag