Proving that you don’t need a sell out crowd to create an astonishing atmosphere, Flogging Molly, the seven-strong Irish-American punk rockers, stood at the helm of the UEA stage Sunday night and delivered a setlist as long as your arm peppered with inimitable classics and material from latest album ‘Speed of Darkness.’
A devoted, Guinness-fuelled crowd gathered to dance and crowd-surf in numbers to the band’s distinctively Celtic-flavoured folk, punk and rock. One of the most energetic shows I’ve seen in a long time at UEA, frontman Dave King’s footwork mirroring the excitement in the audience. With humble gestures of gratitude throughout as well as an impromptu meet-and-greet from a few members of the band at the end made for a memorable outing.
Classics spanning the band’s 15-year career along with singles like ‘Don’t Shut ‘Em Down’ and ‘The Heart of the Sea’ from 2011’s ‘Speed of Darkness’ had the crowd in collective head-banging motion.
The huge ensemble of instruments and the band’s collective mastery of each, along with the pure breakneck pace of their music made it a hugely entertaining and varied show.
Ever the entertainer, King took the opportunity to joke with the audience in short, sharp bursts between songs (and likely catch his breath too) adding to the intimate and light-hearted mood of the evening. Flogging Molly are clearly a band that still simply love to play live shows, leaping around on stage at a dizzying rate of knots.
‘The Seven Deadly Sins’, clearly a crowd favourite, prompted yet more crowd-surfers and rounded off a fantastic, albeit exhausting, night in which Flogging Molly ignited Norwich UEA’s LCR with Irish charm.
