Concert Review: Flogging Molly Bring The Final Green 17 Tour To Philly

Words and photography by: Megan C. Brooks

Monday night at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia was the final Flogging Molly Green 17 tour. Don’t panic, there will be more Flogging Molly tours- just not leading up to St Patrick’s Day as they have been for the past ten years.

The show kicked off with the local Philadelphia band Residuels, an eclectic two piece rock band with a somewhat retro sound that’s hard to classify, whose set was brief but impressive.

The second band, indie rockers from Oceanside CA, was The Drowning Men who also opened for Flogging Molly in 2011. They too are a band that is hard to really pigeon hole. The lead singer, Nato Bardeen, plays several instruments including a mandolin and a theremin. The only thing I could criticize about this performance wasn’t the bands fault; the sound was really unbalanced. There was way too much bass and drums, you could barely hear the vocals. The guitars and keys were just a murmuring sound under it all. The Drowning Men have two recordings on Borstal Beat, which is Flogging Molly’s own label.

For those who don’t know Flogging Molly is an Irish-American folk-rock band. As always the band put on a stellar show, with their unique blend of traditional instruments like the banjo, tin whistle, and accordion combined with electric guitars and bass. Lead singer Dave King has a story or an introduction before each song. Everyone booed when he told the audience that this was the last Green 17 Tour, but he went on to say that it meant they were going to play the very best from each of their five albums and they did.

King also introduced band members, told stories of his childhood in Ireland and even pointed out his son in the crowd. The played a very long set including Drunken Lullabies, Life in a Tenement Square, Us of Lesser Gods and Swagger. Flogging Molly is an extremely talented band with great showmanship and tons of onstage energy. This tenth annual Green 17 tour will continue through March 23, ending in New Orleans. After that the band is set to record their sixth album.

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