Flogging Molly Enters Their Ripe Old Age

words by Anna Tauzin
photos by Randy Cremean

 One night, soon after I had turned twenty-one, a friend of mine picked me up for a hedonistic night of drinking. As I slid into the passenger seat, he popped in Flogging Molly's Drunken Lullabies. The pounding punk rock background and traditional Celtic instruments sunk their claws in, setting the mood for that and several evenings to come. Flogging Molly may provide great drinking anthems that make everyone jump and sing along, but they also do something more: they make you feel. Heartfelt and sardonic lyrics balance like a perfect Irish car bomb, leaving their audiences weeping in the throes of exuberance.