Flogging Molly With Rev. Peyton

February signals the end of winter sporting and the return of concert tour season. This year fans of both music and sports were given an unusual treat during the final bleak days of winter when the House of Blues in Dallas hosted a Flogging Molly show the day of the Super Bowl. The doors opened hours before curtain time and fans crowded into enjoy a brew and watch the Giants Vs Patriots on a huge screen suspended above the stage. Minutes after the final touch down team affiliations were forgotten as the first band of the evening took the stage and the crowd roared in unison.

Dusty Rhodes and the River Band gave an all around effort and should been given credit for most diverse compliment of instruments. Keyboard, guitar, bass, fiddle, bells, tambourine, harmonica, banjo, drums and accordion were all present and up to 3 instruments were played by a single person throughout their performance. Their enthusiasm put the audience in a jovial mood, ready for the larger than life antics of Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band.

In line with the night’s theme of regional music, the alternative edge of Rev. Peyton’s Band did not disappoint. The family act of three is lead by Rev Peyton, followed by his wife, Breezy, and brother, Jayme. They play a style inspired from 1920’s and 30’s Mississippi delta blues. The Trio mounts the stage outfitted with period instruments; last seen in the hands of Skiffle bands of the 1950’s. Breezy straps on a washboard / cymbal combination that she plays by raking her metal tipped gloves, and adds another layer of rhythm on Jayme’s already driving drum beat. The good Rev. fronts the band with exceptional skill on a classic National resonating guitar . He delivers complex finger plucked tunes combined with a steal slide, to a flavor of a grassroots down home vibe. They include customary songs to embrace a southern heritage, and offer the bands take on traditional hymes, as well as new ideas with a dash of tongue-in-cheek attitudes to keep it fun. Fans of contemporary alternative music will enjoy Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band. The most memorable moment of their set came with “Your Cousin ‘s On COPS”, an amusing song about what it might be like to turn on the TV to discover that the most recent installment of COPS featurs your cousin in a high-speed chase. Uncharacteristically of an opening band Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band took command of the audience and left them in a suspended high awaiting Flogging Molly’s entrance.

The crowd did not just cheer when Flogging Molly come on stage, it erupted. Flogging Molly launched into the foot stompin’ performance, they are so well know for. Dave King, lead singer and Irish expatriate, leads an ensemble of 7 assembled from the bowel of L.A. Over a decade together, Flogging Molly has moved to the forefront of alternative music with a distinct brand of Irish inspired rock. They have toured extensively, and gained a reputation for great live shows, where the audience is in more of a dancing freny than the band. Great mountains of men proudly donning their kilts will almost skip with excitement before careening into one another at full force. Flogging Molly encourages the audience to drink, fight and sing with equal enthusiasm, but to also give a big hug and a kiss to the fellow you just knocked on his ass.

2008 signaled the release of Float, the first new full length studio album from Flogging Molly in 4 years. The record includes songs similar to old fan favorites like “What’s Left of the Flag” and “Devils Dance Floor” that feature high b.p.m and a cacophony of instruments to dare the listener to resist the urge to dance. “Won’t Make a Fool Out of Me” doubtlessly found audience members splashed with the contents of glasses raised in a pledge to be wiser in the ways of life and love. Most notably from the album are new songs like “Float” which are no less enjoyable then its high spirited brethren, but feature a more skillful use of the traditional instruments like bodhran, tin whistle, fiddle, and uillean pipes. The maturity on Float could be attributed to being the first album Flogging Molly has recorded in Ireland. Recording in the country where their inspiration is so deeply rooted, brought about tunes like “No More (Paddy’s Lament)” which they credit to the Britain’s 2007 agreement to troop with-drawl from Northern Ireland and the healing that still lies ahead. “Requiem for a Dying Song” also appeals to any citizen who’s country is suffering civil unrest, and in Dave’s case doubly so with both his mother country and adopted nation ill at ease. The shows Flogging Molly has since the release of Float are weighted towards the new songs, but the fans embrace the new material with the heart of those who faithfully waited for new material. When the final curtain fell, everyone left maybe a little worse for wear and tear, but fan’s faces beamed from ear to ear. Groups of happily exhausted youths swaggered away from the auditorium in search of the next great time.

Flogging Molly is the old friend who will always stand by your side and raise a pint, no matter how you both may change over the years. Flogging Molly is currently on a tour in Europe, but will return to the United States in September and October. Go get tickets for the big sweaty Irish hug that is waiting for you just around the corner.