Flogging Molly Had a Rowdy Good Time at The Pageant Tuesday

Sean Derrick September 14, 2023 0 Comments Flogging Molly, punk rock, Saint Louis concert review and photos, The Bronx

–by Sean Derrick

Veteran Celtic Punk stalwarts Flogging Molly returned to The Pageant in Saint Louis for a rowdy good show on Tuesday night.

The band is touring in support of their latest album Anthem, which dropped one year ago this past week and wasn’t available when the band played at Saint Louis Music Park in June of last year.

They performed five tracks from the album, most notably “A Song of Liberty” which was used to raise funds for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. Vocalist Dave King dedicated it “to the beautiful people of Ukraine”, drawing a nice roar from the crowd.

King and the rest of the band (violinist/vocalist Bridget Regan, guitarist Dennis Casey, bassist Nathen Maxwell, Accordionist Matt Hensley, drummer Mike Alonso, and Spencer Swain on Mandolin) sounded as crisp and vibrant as ever. Streaming through song after song with seemingly unending energy, the band thrives on performing live and feeding off the energy of an excited crowd.

The Pageant has become a favorite place to play for the band throughout the years and King gushes about it every time they play there.

King was his usual jokster self as he poked fun at himself throughout the night. Anything from the tanless whiteness of his legs to referencing his age and the grayness that comes with it. He made several toasts with his Guiness beer ever at the ready, and even passed out 1 or 2 to lucky crowd members. In short, he is living his best life for him and it reflects in the performances.

They tried new/old versions of some songs which were interesting to hear. Especially of note a different version of “Black Friday Rule” in which King performed the first 3/4 of the song solo acoustically while the band rejoined him for a bombastic final two choruses and a bit of a jam. It was a style they performed back in the 90’s and I have to say; that is one of my favorite Flogging Molly songs and I love hearing it this was live. It really drove home the passion for what the song meant to King as he moved to the US from Ireland more than 30 years ago.

Flogging Molly brought along The Vandoliers, who did a pretty great cover of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, and hardcore punk band The Bronx.

The Bronx wasted little time in hitting the high punk threshold and beating it to a pulp. Early on in their set, particularly during “Heart Attack American” they seemed to shine brightest, taking punk rock and cranking it to 11.