Flogged

Way back when, there were of course two Irish Fests in Kansas City, one in Westport Memorial Day weekend and one in Brookside on Labor Day weekend. The last year that we put on the Brookside Fest, we had a headline band called Flogging Molly on stage. They were energetic, lively, fun, great musicians and really nice people.

Or, they were scary, intimidating, loud, obnoxious and everything thats wrong with the world today. We had people come down on both sides of that discussion. I was working, in charge of all the beer tents in Brookside that year and you can put me in the former group. I thought they were great, in spite of the fact that their young fans didn't exactly keep my bartenders busy. After that festival closed, a more vocal group of the latter presented a petition to the Mayor and City Council asking to have our festival permits revoked. Was that Flogging Molly's fault? Was that the spark that led to combing the two festivals into the Kansas City Irish Fest we know and love today? There's a little truth in both those questions. I'll tell you this: you will not be bored at Flogging Molly's show in Kansas City tonight.

Doors open at 7:00 at the Beaumont Club in Westport. All ages are welcome. Hint: You may want to provide the kids with ear protection, for a couple reasons.