Eastpak Antidote Tour 2008 - Astoria 2 - 5th November 08 [Live]

Flogging Molly, Skindred, The Streetdogs, Time Against

November 26, 2008, 01:29 AM

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There’s little that can normally quell my spirits when it comes to a gig I’m looking forward to, bar an epic trot across London due to tube outage and inadequate bus services. So three hours and a cab journey later, I’m bailing into the Astoria 2 pissed verging on devastated about missing all three support acts, Skindred and Time Again but namely ex-lead vocalist with Dropkick Murphys Mike McColgan’s new outfit, Street Dogs but soldiering on to finally get the opportunity to see headliners of the Eastpak Antidote Tour 2008, celtic punk veterans Flogging Molly live.

I make it just in time to catch the start of Flogging Molly, and from the moment I walk through the door, a punk rock aural suckerpunch sets me right and my hellish three hours are a distant memory. And I realise quickly - if the first few songs are anything to go by, I’ve quite a night ahead of me.

Kicking off with a few numbers from their most recent offering, Float, their first real critical and commercial success, the boys and girl are in flying form and the crowd are lapping up everything on offer so far. Although Float’s been knocking around for the last six months or so, it’s not often a crowd react so well to new material but the likes of "Requiem for a Dying Song" go down a treat and it appears any old excuse to get caught up in Flogging Molly's own style of boisterous and frenetic celtic punk rock is good enough.

But the person who seems to be enjoying it most of all is lead vocalist, Dubliner Dave King who engages liberally in banter with the crowd, musing over the plight of redheads, West Ham and Swedes between songs, and honestly the breather is a welcome reprieve for both the band and the crowd from the sheer velocity of their set. It’s a case of join in or prepare to be bowled over.

Eventually, in the name of good reviewing, I move from downstairs to the VIP area upstairs (Altsounds thank you very much) to see what’s going on in the pit and on stage without getting battered. Normally I avoid the seated areas like the plague, feeling I can’t properly enjoy a gig unless I’m down the front but even those around the balcony were pretty much on their feet, fists clenched and roaring along with every song. And then when the band kick into "Drunken Lullabies", things really take off and if there’s anyone sitting down anywhere, I can’t spot them.

While it’s tough to take your eyes off the stage for the moment, the pit below deserve a distinctly honourable mention, developing a sort of bastardised ceilidh (traditional Irish dance) mixed with a distinctly punk pogo, such is the infectious level of Flogging Molly’s sound. Things eventually quieten down – a little bit – when frontman Dave King does the eponymous hit from Float and maintains his excellent relationship with the crowd throughout the gig, injecting a bit of sentiment into "What’s Left of the Flag", dedicating it to his dad, and for me, was the stand out moment of the whole gig – hairs on the back of the neck, the whole nine yards and so good that every time it pops up on my Archos, I get the same tingles.

While it’s probably an unfair comparison as Lemmy’s hitting his 60s and always manages to put on a perfunctory performance, having seen Motorhead just the week before in Dublin, it was hard to shake off the comparison. A band going through the motions versus Flogging Molly literally blowing the crowd away - it’s a stark bloody comparison to see a band well past their play by date versus a band born to play live.

There’s always something to be said of a gig that leaves you with a stupid grin plastered all over your face but one that leaves you that way for days is something else altogether. Having lived up to their live show repuation, King and co put on a show that under no accounts should be missed.

http://www.myspace.com/theantidotetour

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