Flogging Molly @ The Waterfront
It’s track after track of relentless Celtic bedlam
Flogging Molly have become predictably good at what they do, the kind of band that don’t seem to have a bad show in them. You get the sense that even if half of them were playing out of key and frontman Dave King forgot all his words they’d still, somehow, make it work through pure force of will alone. There may be a time where that theory is tested but for tonight the Irish-American septet come roaring into the Waterfront and simply go about getting everything right.
It’s track after track of relentless Celtic bedlam. King - a wide-eyed magnet of enthusiasm – draws everything from the sold out crowd. The notorious mosh pits break out, hands in the air, hoarse throats yelling about the establishment in glorious unison. With 18 years in the bag since forming, Molly have built an envious rapport with their fan base and it shows – at one point some guy decides it’s a wave your arms from side to side moment and on the command of ‘there we go, join in with that bastard over there!’ from the stage, every single beer-clutching patron is doing it too. What’s more is they hold the kind of musical arsenal to make a show whatever they want it to be, plucking a raucous selection from their back catalogue and sending Norwich into a more-or-less constant frenzy. In a sweatbox of good will the veterans sweep through established butt-movers – If I Ever Leave This World Alive and Drunken Lullabies a couple worth mentioning – as well as airing a new song that does sod all to change the status quo. With the promise of a new album on the way we’re happy, they’re happy, everyone’s happy. Hurrah!
