Since 2008, I have seen Flogging Molly in concert every year. Every year but this one. I recently moved to Georgia where they have already played this year, and tonight is their Dallas show. So here I am, in my apartment, with a Guinness, a book, and Speed of Darkness playing on my stereo. It just isn't the same.

Tonight is the Flogging Molly concert and I am super excited. I've mentioned a couple of times that Us Of Lesser Gods is my favorite song, so I'll share my second favorite song.

In honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I get to see Flogging Molly tonight! This will be the fourth time I have gone to their concert and I have had a blast at each one. Well, except for the time I nearly got in a fight with a drunk asshole. Of all of the concerts I have gone to, Flogging Molly puts on a show so full of energy and passion that none of the others come close to. Not even the Protomen and that is saying something. I typically have a list of songs I hope to hear whenever I go to a concert and tonight is no exception. The one song I really hope to hear tonight is Us of Lesser Gods, probably my favorite song.

The penguins in the suits, they know nothing but greed

A friend of mine posted this link to a story in the Huffington Post today about an incident at Berkeley involving student and faculty protesters being assaulted by police officers. One person assaulted was former Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Hass. This story is one of many involving Occupy protesters who are subjected to unnecessary force by authority figures simply for protesting what are unfair conditions. The Berkeley students and faculty members were protesting the rapidly rising tuition and pay cuts and lay offs while administrators continue to draw large bonuses. Rather than reply to these demands, university officials sent riot police to clear out the protesters. This story made me sick to my stomach. The current state of American affairs is deplorable. Banks have defaulted on loans due to irresponsible lending practices and have to depend on government bailouts, while if a person defaults on a loan owed to that bank, they are subjected to fines and penalties. Corporations cut jobs of people who are the support of the company, the people who actually produce, in order to justify giving large bonuses to executives. CEO's making bad decisions that cause a company to go under receiving large severance packages anyway. This whole situation is what Flogging Molly discuss in their most recent album Speed Of Darkness. The album was written while Dave King was living in Detroit during the fold of the American Auto Industry. It deals with the plight of the working man trying desperately to scrape by with what little they managed to get from the companies they worked for while CEO's live a life of comfort. Today's song is The Power's Out.

Here's a quick post before I go to work. I've mentioned before that I like Flogging Molly. This is an understatement. I've seen them live three times and have all of their albums. I highly recommend going to one of their live shows, it is a truly amazing experience. They come through town every February at the beginning of their Green 17 Tour, and I've seen them on the very first night of their show. Energy doesn't even begin to describe it. Here is my favorite Flogging Molly song, Us Of Lesser Gods.