Flogging Molly ~ March 11, 2009 ~ Water Street Music Hall ~ Rochester, NY

Words and Photos by Joe Koch

It’s never too early to start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, especially when the reason is Flogging Molly — a band that mixes old-world Celtic with punk. They brought their Green 17 tour to Rochester, N.Y. on March 11 and 12. Both shows sold out quickly: Rochester is the hometown of guitarist Dennis Casey. He’s one reason why the band never has a problem selling out the venue. On March 11, 2009, the 1,000 plus fans at Water Street Music Hall had traveled from all over western New York, Pennsylvania and Canada and included every friend and family member ever acquainted with the Casey family.

Flogging Molly’s loyal following can sometimes be pretty hard on the opening act. Not this night. The band brought their friends The Aggrolites from Los Angeles, a band with a mission to share old-school Reggae. They call it “dirty reggae.” The grooves are slower but the conviction of their performance ultimately prevented the crowd from growing restless. It also helped that members of Flogging Molly were standing on the side of the stage grooving. The Aggrolites even invited Flogging Molly bassist Nathen Maxwell to sing lead vocals for a song. They ended their set with a commanding performance of The Beatles’ 1969 hit “Don’t Let Me Down.If you were lucky, between acts you found Mr. Casey sharing his Irish humor with folks hanging outside the backstage door.

Flogging Molly waited in the wings as The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” blasted through the house speakers to set the tone for the evening. It led the crowd to chant “Hey ho, Let’s go!,” over and over until the band appeared on stage. The place erupted with screams as the band began their explosive set with “Man with no Country” from their 2008 release Float. They blasted through their set, which contained songs from their 2000 release Swagger, 2002’s Drunken Lullabies and Float. The band was in its element — an intimate club setting, 1,000 proud Irish blokes and lasses and plenty of Guinness flowing from the taps.

Even when Dave King, singer and founding member of the band, tried to slow it down with the song “Float,” the crowd’s energy was on high and the crowd surfing continued. Occasionally King would raise a can of Guinness in the air and address the people with a cordial “Sláinte!” — the traditional Irish toast to good health.

In a touching moment, King dedicated “What’s Left of the Flag” to his dear ole’ dad, who is no longer with us. You could see the family pride in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

Near the end of the show the band raised it up another notch with the fast-driven “Seven Deadly Sins.” The crowd bounced and the floorboards buckled. For a split second I pondered the thought of crashing through to the basement.

The band came back for a three-song encore, all from Swagger. First, Dave King came out center stage and sang “Grace of God Go I,” a cappella. The last two were full-speed ahead — “Devil’s Dance Floor” featuring Bridget Regan on tin whistle and “Salty Dog,” another punk favorite.

The highlight for me was hearing hints of Dave King’s past. The voice that once fronted the ‘80s hair metal band Fastwaycan be heard when he hits the more powerful notes on certain songs like “The Lightning Storm” and “Punch Drunk Grinning Soul.”But, it’s clear that he has left that behind him.

Flogging Molly has reputation as a punk band but besides the crowd surfing, it’s really just a bunch of drunken Irish people celebrating their heritage. For one night I felt like I was in Dublin again. Sláinte.

For more info go to: www.floggingmolly.com