Review Sun Mar 14 2010

Flogging Molly @ The Aragon 3/13

By J.H. Palmer

Apart from the print ads in the interior of the Aragon promoting brands like Miller Genuine Draft and Univision, and the disco ball hanging incongruously from the ceiling, the Ballroom looked as lush and festive as it might have when the Chicago Daily Tribune referred to it as a "Gorgeous Bit 'o Hispaniola For Uptown Dancers" in a 1925 headline. Bag inspections and body frisks at the entrance caused a bottleneck for incoming concertgoers, and concession stands sold beer in plastic cups that was advertised at $6, but cost $7. The sold-out crowd wore a respectable amount of green, both kinds of hat (pork pie and driver's), and at least two mohawks.

Frank Turner opened the show, making his final appearance with Flogging Molly's 6th annual Green 17 tour before heading back to the UK, followed by The Architects, who turned the volume up before Flogging Molly took the stage. The opening acts brought the crowd to a simmer, the occasional enthusiast surfed the crowd, and the front of the house moved in quick, synchronized movements. Flogging Molly raised the temperature and brought the audience to a full boil; mosh pits formed and disappeared like bubbles. Among the items thrown into the air over the course of the evening were: several items of clothing, a couple light sticks (one landed on the sound board), and a number of $6 $7 cups of beer.

The band opened with "No More," then moved into "The Likes of You Again" and "Requiem For a Dying Song". They reached deep into their repertoire, pulling out songs from their first two albums like "Black Friday Rule" and "The Worst Day Since Yesterday", as well as newer material from 2008's Float. Front man Dave King expressed the band's appreciation repeatedly, starting with: "As we say back in Ireland, muchos, muchos gracias," and thanked Frank Turner, The Architects and "each and every one of you lovely bastards for coming out tonight."

There were dedications aplenty, among those recognized were: Bridget Regan's pregnant sister; King's octogenarian mother, who greets him with 200 cigarettes and a bottle of Jameson when he de-planes in Ireland; King's long deceased father; members of the U.S. Armed Services; peace in Ireland; Johnny Cash; Bob Marley; and former altar boys everywhere. In addition to well rehearsed stories, King's between song patter included moments of off-the-cuff inspiration. Addressing a half-naked crowd surfer, he said: "What the hell is that? Put a shirt on, you're embarrassing me!"

Exiting the ballroom after the show was as challenging as entering. The crowd occupied every conceivable inch of space along the stairways, spilled out onto Lawrence Avenue in streams, and created a bottleneck at the entrance of the Lawrence El stop. Where people went next is anyone's guess, but I doubt many went to bed early.