So last week I went to a Flogging Molly concert.
A few months previously a friend of mine told me she liked Mumford & Sons. It’s hard for me to hate on them because I’ve never really listened to their music, but she played me a few of their songs and explained that she loved their “folky sound”. She also mentioned that she loved their accents and accordion. “Laura,” I said, “I know a band you should listen to.” Two months later I drove up to Charlotte, NC and we went to see them live at the Fillmore (for only $25 I might add).
Before the concert, we indulged in Irish cuisine and Harp (because I didn’t want to sip on Guinness all night) at Ri Ra Irish Pub. If you like lamb, get the Irish Stew. You’d be doing yourself a disservice getting anything else, although the Bistro salad was also delicious.
We got to the venue just in time to see the last song or two of the opener, and squeezed into the center of a packed house. Even though it was a Sunday night, the place was crammed full of concert-goers. Mostly the good kind, too – you know, the ones that are always holding a beer, wearing a big green hat, and grinning ear-to-ear as they bounce back and forth in the crowd. As I’m sure you can imagine, Flogging Molly is an awesome band to see live. Lead singer Dave King tells entertaining stories about their songs and has a great camaraderie with the crowd. You can tell everyone onstage is really enjoying being there, and all of their songs have such upbeat, dance-and-sing-your-heart-out rhythms that it’s hard not to enjoy yourself.
At the end of the night, amidst chants of “Olé, Olé, Olé, Oléee” the band came back for an encore and played a cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times Are a-Changin”. Check out the video below.
On the way home, Laura and I snagged a cab with another guy headed our way. The cabbie had house music playing, so, naturally, I started beat-boxing (or trying to, anyway), and our new friend tried his hand at freestyling. “I don’t think any of that rhymed,” I told him. “Was it supposed to?” he asked.
