Flogging Molly
First, excellent songwriting. Second, excellent musicianship. Third, as Mackey put it, a feeling of authenticity. These guys are out there to do what they want to be doing, which is playing fiery Irish punk. But let's look at a couple of opening bands first.
The first band, called Gogol Bordello, can only be described as Gypsy punk. Well, that's not quite true. They could also be described as "fucking AWESOME!" They put out so much energy you couldn't help but bounce along to the cacophonous sounds they managed to eke out of their guitars and violins and screams, even if you couldn't understand the lyrics. Plus, the lead singer had a mustache that simply wouldn't quit. The two female members would come out and scream when appropriate and later picked up some cymbals and a bass drum to play along with the rest of the band, who all looked like they came straight off of a Gypsy camp.
The second band, Throw Rag, were not as good. They started their set with a couple of straight punk songs, nothing unusual, and didn't get interesting until the "Fat Punk" started singing and playing trumpet. He flew into the audience and was singing from the floor, etc., which helped make the latter half of their set more interesting.
From the moment Flogging Molly took the stage to the moment the house lights came on, it was clear that this was their show. They played with all of their usual maelstrom of energy. Drunken Lullabies, Devil's Dancefloor, Seven Deadly Sins; these were just some of the highlights. The closing encore really capped the night, though, as they played "Within A Mile Of Home" and "What's Left Of The Flag." I may agree with my brother in that this seemed a shorter set than the last time we saw 'em, but I thought this time they played with more energy. During Sacred Heart they even managed to sneak an AC/DC impression in, which was inspired.
Overall, this was a rockin' show. If the Street Dogs or Neck or someone else replaced Throw Rag, it could've been a perfect show.