molly

This past Saturday, I got a chance to do something that I've wanted to do for years and have never done: I got to see Flogging Molly at an outdoor concert at the Irish Fair in St. Paul.

I have a special place in my heart for Flogging Molly. They were the first band that I found on my own, without the assistance of a) hearing their music on the radio a billion times; or b) someone telling me, "hey, you ought to be listening to this." I fell in love with them almost immediately after hearing them online, and it was their heartfelt, loud, sometimes angry or mournful, but eminently hopeful music that helped to pull me through my first awful year of college.

Anyway--awesome. Outdoor concerts are officially my favorite ever way to hear music. It was a gorgeous evening, cool and clear. I was with a few friends, and we ended up WAYYYYYY in the back (my only regret--we couldn't see much of the band). Two favorite moments: Dave King saying that the sight of a young woman waving an Irish flag underneath a big oak tree way in the back was "the loveliest thing I've ever seen," (At least I think that's close to what he said--memory's a little foggy after two days); and the crowd joining in singing "What's Left of the Flag". Okay... third moment: this was the first time I heard "Whistles the Wind", and the lyrics Oh it breaks my heart to see you this way / the beauty of life, where's it gone? / Oh somebody told me you were doing okay / but somehow I guess they were wrong.

Yeah, I'm totally in love.