Music is kinda funny. There are some bands that sound awesome on their album and completely blow in person while there are other bands that sound average on album and completely blow your mind live. Flogging Molly is the latter for me. Don't get me wrong. I like their albums. In fact, I think each album gets better than the last. But there is nothing like going to a Flogging Molly show and seeing them live. The band brings a performance full of excitement and vivacity and you can always expect to have a good time. And once again Flogging Molly proved me right with their first of two shows on December 30 (second one on New Year's Eve) at the Fillmore Theater in Denver, CO.

Unfortunately, I came into the building right when Flogging Molly came on stage and realized that I missed The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band and The Aggrolites play, which was a shame. I have seen the Aggrolites play in the past and they were fantastic. I highly recommend anyone see them when they tour again or better yet - watch them sing "Banana" on Nickelodeon's Yo Gabba Gabba.

Walking into a Flogging Molly show is like walking into an amusement park. We all come from different backgrounds and have different opinion and ideas, but are all there for the same reason - to be highly entertained and have fun. Flogging Molly wasted no time getting the crowd going when they started the show with a high-energy performance and kept it going throughout. Unlike most bands where the lead singer is the only member jumping around and getting the crowd going, each member of the band was doing so.

Throughout the performance frontman Dave King entertained the crowd with his funny sidenotes about the crowd and how the band was becoming posh in its old age since they were playing in a venue with chandeliers. They played a good mix of their older songs like "Drunken Lullabies," "Rebels of the Sacred Heart," "Selfish Man," "Tobacco Island," "If I Ever Leave This World," "What's Left of the Flag," and "Black Friday Rules." However, they also played a lot from their new album, Float, which came out March 2008. I personally liked "Float" and "Lighting Storm". They were a perfect mix of traditional Irish and punk rock and made me go out and purchase the album the next day. (Yes, I am that lame and waited this whole time to get their latest album.)

And even though Flogging Molly is known for their extremely vigorous performance throughout the whole show, their greatest moment of the show was during the encore when King came out solo and sang "If I Ever Leave This World" acoustic. It was just a beautiful and surreal moment when everyone seemed to calm down to hear the heartfelt words. It reminded me of when I was in school in Ireland and everyone would stop and crowd around to hear the local pub band play the last song of the night. However, in good old Flogging Molly spirit, the rest of the band came back out and ended the show with a bang.

If you have never seen Flogging Molly play live, I highly recommend that you do. They are probably one of the best bands that I have seen live and they just get better and better each time they come around. And don't worry, Dave, the band might be getting posh in its old age, but you still make me want to raise my pint of Guinness to you and salute.

-Melissa Skrbic-Huss

Flogging Molly
December 30, 2008
Fillmore Theater
Denver, CO

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