Flogging Molly
Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
Friday, March 9, 2007
Written by Rebecca Carter

The band opened the set with “Another Bag of Bricks,” and the crowd immediately transformed into a sea of hands clapping in unison as soon as front man Dave King raised his hands to the air. The energy only grew from there as they continued the pace with “The Likes of You Again,” “Devil’s Dance Floor,” “Tobacco Island” and “Selfish Man,” eventually peaking with the mainly instrumental “Swagger.” Fans began to stumble from the floor towards the bars, panting, sweat-drenched and in search of water or other libations but there were no signs of fatigue from the band, whose energy seemed to be driven by King, who would occasionally take off his acoustic guitar to dance amongst his band mates. The audience was given a chance to breathe when they slowed things down with “Whistles the Wind” and “If I Ever Leave This World Alive,” during which guitarist Dennis Casey added some somber solos. Next came “Rebels of the Sacred Heart.” King had only to sing the first lyric of the song, and the crowd filled in the rest. They finished the set with “What’s Left of the Flag” and encored with “Black Friday Rule” and “Seven Deadly Sins.”

The only low point of the show was during “Factory Girls,” when fiddle and tin whistle player Bridget Regan sang the duet with King originally sung by Lucinda Williams on the album. Regan appeared too shy to want to be singing and her vocals were lost amongst the power of the rest of the band. However, every time she picked up the fiddle throughout the night she played with such frenzy that she drove the excitement even further.