Flogging Molly Brings Guinness-soaked Tales
Author: Stephen Rubin
Ask Flogging Molly’s Dennis Casey if those “no crowd surfing” warnings posted at many concert venues are phooey. At a May 15 show in San Fran-cisco, the crowd- surfing guitar player made his unintentional acquaintance with the ground after getting tossed over the stage barrier by fans during a set by tour- ing partners the Living End.
Flogging Molly accordionist and Carlsbad resident Matt Hensley saw Casey emerge from his fall, clutching his right arm.
“He thought for sure, I think, that someone was going to catch him, so he fell like a rock. He didn’t fall like trying to catch yourself; he just fell like waiting for someone to catch him, so he fell like a sack of potatoes. And then he hit his hands and snapped it,” Hensley said, referring to Casey’s right wrist.
The accident forced Flogging Molly to cancel its May 16 opening slot for Hank Williams III at 4th & B in San Diego.
“(Casey) felt so bad. He was sitting there, his hand puffed up to hell, and he could care less about his hand. He was just bummed,” Hensley said.
But the Irish-rock septet will appear Saturday at Fiesta del Sol in Solana Beach. Hensley said the band’s previous guitar player will fill in for Casey. It is onstage where the Los Angeles band’s blend of traditional Irish melodies and punk rock aggression is winning over more and more beer-hoisting, pogo-dancing fans. Hensley and his band, which includes certified Dubliner and frontman Dave King, have seen their stock steadily rise since the release of Flogging Molly’s debut, “Swagger,” last spring.
“When we first went around the country, we were just paying our dues. We’d get these gigs and we’d get paid $20 period as a band. … And so we kept playing and playing, so after a year when we play those places, we almost sell them out most of the time now.”
Now Warped Tour alums, Flogging Molly is regularly headlining name Southland clubs and others around the country.