New DKM and Flogging Molly

by Matt | Mar 17, 2010 | Music, Reviews

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, a bevy of new music from the only two bands fit to claim the title of Irish in the first place. Actually, it’s not really new music, just new CDs. Both bands released new live albums within the past week or two, with the Dropkick Murphys putting theirs out yesterday. I had to stop by Target to pick up a few other items so I checked out the music section briefly and to my surprise not only were both albums there, but both were on sale for $8.99. Not a bad price, especially for the Flogging Molly album which is a double-CD set and live concert DVD. I thought the DKM CD was as well, but apparently I got the wrong one. There was a CD/DVD combo, but it’s a couple bucks more and wasn’t at Target yet. I checked online and sure enough, Amazon has it for just $12.99. (Amazon Affiliate Link: Live On Lansdowne, Boston MA (CD + DVD)). That’s ok, how often would I actually watch an entire concert on DVD anyway?

I had a chance to listen to both abums last night and the DKM album is pretty standard fair for those guys. High energy, great show, good set list, 20 songs from both old and new albums. I think it’s a little less impressive compared to the original live album, which I believe had a few more songs but were more of the classic hits and much more in-between song commentary from the band. That’s really one of the reasons I like to buy live albums. I like to hear the band actually talking to the crowd and having fun, not just performing the songs. I think the difference is that this new album is a collection of songs from multiple nights and therefor edited down, where as the previous live album is a single show, strait through.

The Flogging Molly album is actually quite impressive. Double CD set (although just one show, 21 songs total) and a DVD. The DVD is nice since you get the entire show, 90+ minutes plus a bunch of other stuff. Since the show was so long, I can see why they had to break the CDs into two, but even so, having only 9 songs on the second disk is a little sad. They could have thrown a B-side, or a bonus track, or something on there. Music wise it’s very Flogging Molly. One of the single greatest acts I’ve seen live in my life. I’ve seen them four times now and they’ve never disappointed. The DVD is great at capturing the experience of being at a show, although a little bit from the outside. Somehow it misses that close intimate feeling that always present at a Flogging Molly concert, but that’s more than likely due to the fact that it’s filmed in a large outdoor amphitheater and they shot it using cranes rather than being right up on stage with the band. Still, solid show, and much more enjoyable to share with others who might like the music but might not want to get Guinness soaked and pushed around in a crowd all night.

Both are great, and for $8.99 a piece, you can’t really beat it.