Pirate Army plunders Tempe beach shores
Jeff Moses
The “Seven Drunken Pirates” of Flogging Molly assaulted the shores of Tempe Beach Park on March 17. They blockaded the harbor with “Queen Anne’s revenge” and their other flagship songs for two hours.
Gates opened at 2 p.m. and by 10 p.m. when the band took the stage, the crowd full of “Saints and Sinners” was fairly inebriated and sang “Drunken Lullabies” all night with the Godfathers of Irish Punk.
In their eighth year, Flogging Molly played with a certain “Swagger” and their energy mixed with the perfect weather teetering right on the edge of “The Lightning Storm” to create an epic concert experience for Flogging Molly’s beloved Pirate Army.
“Whistles the Wind” all night made the band seem like they were controlling the climate, and the sky became overcast to make for a beautiful landscape.
All the musicians played at the peak of their ability; there wasn’t a “Salty Dog” in the group. The moshpit started immediately and all the crust punks went insane on “The Devil’s Dance Floor.”
Flogging Molly played at the “Speed of Darkness” and with song titles like “Rise Up” they are clearly hoping their music might cause a “Revolution.”
“The Rebels of the Sacred Heart” claim that “The Sun Never Shines on Closed Doors”, but on St. Patrick’s Day, the god’s of Irish Rock shined on Dave King and company.
King was not a “selfish man” on St. Patty’s Day, giving all he could to screaming fans and they say “Every Dog has his Day”. Mar. 17 was the day for guitarist Dennis Casey.
Bass player Nathan Maxwell kept his face covered most of the night like a robber on “The Kilburn High Road” stealing the hearts of the crowd as he played.
Bridget Regan was a “Cruel Mistress” on the fiddle and tin whistle, while George Schwindt hit the drums like “Another Bag of Bricks”, and it was like the “Rare Ould Times” listening to Bob Schmidt and Matt Hensley on the accordion and mandolin respectively.
When King gave the crowd a goodbye, they cheered “encore” telling the promoters “Don’t Shut ’em Down” we want to see “The Likes of you Again”.
Flogging Molly responded with an unreal rendition of Bob Dylan’s classic “The Times are Changing” a song chosen by Amnesty International to celebrate their 50th birthday.
The terrible part about a show that good is “Tomorrow Comes a Day to Soon.”
For MCC students, all this happened “Within a Mile of Home” if your willing to put up with the hangover on “The Worst day Since Yesterday.”
