I've yet to be disappointed with this band, even when Bridget (the violinist/tin whistler) was gone for a show. Last night was no exception and in fact, may have been the best performance yet. I haven't been to the WOW Hall in 5 years, and I haven't totally forgotten how awesome the place is, though I was due for some reminding. I remember in awe my first few shows there. Looking back I thought that it was maybe due to youthful exuberance and I was afraid that the novelty would wear off as an adult. Thankfully, that didn't happen. The short, ratty stage with the crowd jutted up against it, the "backstage" area actually outside next to the stage - all of this makes you feel like you're posing for a MRR photo. "This is what punk rock is supposed to be!" you think. What I really love about the WOW Hall is that bands enjoy playing there. You can tell just looking at their faces and it results in a better show. While Flogging Molly is usually a happy band, they were all smiles last night - way more than usual. It's a small crowd, but wayyy louder than it should be for its size.
Which brings me to my next point: the crowd definitely had some obnoxious shitheads in it. Whatever happened to mosh pits being about fun and dancing? Eugene was known as being the opposite of Portland, in that the moshers were not out to hurt people and looked out for one another. Last night the drunken frat boys decided that since the band plays Irish music, they were going to live a stereotype and be rowdy bastards at the expense of everyone around them. The whole point of the show to them was to see how hard they could shove each other into the crowd - if they hit a section of girls, even better because they could knock more of us over. I got kicked out of my front row spot about 3 minutes into the show - no big deal, I've seen the band a number of times and I'd rather have room to dance anyway. But the above mentioned rowdy bastards would find the sections where people were trying to dance and actually see THE BAND instead of some sweaty t-shirt in front of them, and they would start a shoving match in the middle of it, just to see everyone fall over or get smacked in the face. If you were at the show last night and participated in any of the above activities with glee, fuck you.
On the other hand, some punishment I kind of enjoy. When I wasn't getting pummeled on purpose, I was getting pummeled benignly by other dancers/friendly moshers. Here it is, 12 hours later and I'm still finding bruises. At least I can bend my elbow again - that was a bit of an issue trying to drive home last night. These injuries I don't mind. I enjoy showing off my battle scars and every twinge of pain brings back happy memories.
So! Now that I've had my non-alcoholic happiness dose (THANK YOU FLOGGING MOLLY!) I can go on with my life of doing absolutely nothing and enjoying the hell out of it. I'll post the next time something mildly exciting happens.
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Much better description than mine, how on earth did you find my blog? I agree, some of those guys were nuts. The worst thing for my section (front right)was these two people who looked like they were eating eachothers face for about 2 hours. One of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Still, it was an awesome show, and that was the best "Josie and the Pussy Cats" style band I've seen, Go Betty Go. I really liked the Voodoo Glow Skulls, but Flogging Molly was obviously the stars of the show. Anyway, maybe until the next Wow Hall expedition.
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