Sunday, 4:15-6:15

Flogging Molly, Cage the Elephant, Lissie, Portugal. The Man, Boy & Bear, and Jackmaster will be performing at Lollapalooza 2011 between the hours of 4:15 and 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 7.

FLOGGING MOLLY
It said a lot when Martin Scorsese featured Flogging Molly in his epic police/mobster good/evil meditation The Departed, a film that examined the intricacies of undercover sleepers on both sides of the fence in a world built around the troubled descendants of Irish immigrants. The film was gritty, no-holds-barred political discourse that had no fear of being brash and loud. And never forgot that it’s audience was going to the movies to have fun. Enter Flogging Molly, the Irish American 7-piece that have created a powerful soap box, holding strong to roots and principles that have made them modern day rock prophets. Expect a good-time stomping wash of banjos, fiddles, heavy punk rock guitars and the edgy, old timey angst of a band of Celtic minstrels hell bent on making a mosh pit of the masses in hopes of a brighter tomorrow. (Sunday, 4:15-5:15, Bud Light Stage) –text: Phillip David Forsyth

CAGE THE ELEPHANT
Formed in 2005 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cage the Elephant broke through the music industry with their sassy single “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard “Alternative Songs” chart. Since the band’s inception, they’ve released two albums under Jive Records including their 2008 self-titled debut and Thank You Happy Birthday early this year, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 200. Cage the Elephant’s intense, powerful drums and heavy guitars reflect classic hard rock while lead singer Matt Schultz’s rare voice turns their music into spicy alternative rock. With a whirlwind of attitude and lyrics like “Oh there ain’t no rest for the wicked / Until we close our eyes for good”, Cage the Elephant is an untamed beast hosting an all-night party for head-banging pachyderms. (Sunday, 5:15-6:15, PlayStation Stage) –text: Carrie Wittmer

LISSIE
The Rock Island, Illinois native has taken the blogosphere by storm with tasteful covers of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” but it’s the whimsical folk singer’s original material that really demands attention. With a voice conveying the barreling thunder of a young Janis Joplin to expert harmonies that tug at the heartstrings, do nothing more than catch this tiger’s set. (Sunday, 4:30-5:15, Google+ Stage) –text: Selena Fragassi

PORTUGAL. THE MAN
Their seventh album since 2006, Portugal The Man finally released In the Mountain, In the Cloud last month after taunting listeners with 30-second clips and short films since mid-April. Produced by Grammy winner Andy Wallace and John Hill, Portugal’s latest opus continues their legacy of soaring psychedelic rock anthems with a personal edge. Drawing from their childhood in Alaska, the album is an outdoorsman’s epic acid trip, best illustrated by the 13-minute dream sequence song “Sleep Forever”. (Sunday, 5-6, Sony Stage) –text: Hilary Telford

BOY & BEAR
This Australian percussive folk-rock group is on the verge. While their debut LP Moon Fire drops on the first day of the festival, the ruggedly danceable quintet has garnered substantial buzz over the past couple years and simmered quite the pot of anticipation. The singles and EP that they’ve already laid out point towards a group with the ability to combine gorgeously lush harmonies with earnest, unpretentious songwriting that never seems to drop the tempo. (Sunday, 5-5:45, BMI Stage) –text: Matthew DeMarco

JACKMASTER
Crowned “Best Breakthrough DJ” of 2010 by DJ Magazine, Jack Revill has been a leading ambassador for Glasgow’s electronic music scene via Numbers, a club night that sired a record label that’s home to acts like Jamie xx, Hudson Mohawke, and Lazer Sword. As the party-rocking Jackmaster, Revill drops sets that run the spectrum of everything bass: from Detroit techno, Chicago house, Baltimore club, and dirty South hip-hop to dubstep, grime, R&B, and beyond. (Sunday, 5-6, Perry’s) –text: Mark Calaguas

Flogging Molly

We love each other. That trumps any issue we ever have.

story by Mary Scannell
photo by Shawn Bishop

The one word I’d use to describe Flogging Molly? Driven. The three words accordion player Matt Hensley used when asked to describe his band? A good time.

In 1997, frontman Dave King brought together musical talent and genre diversity while slapping L.A. across the face with his fusion of punk rock and traditional Irish music. Regular gigs at Molly Malone’s prompted the band’s name, and by 2000 Flogging Molly had released their first studio album, Swagger.

Three more albums — Drunken Lullabies, Within a Mile of Home and Float — would follow. Most recently released was a CD/DVD combo of Flogging Molly performing live at the Greek Theatre. And on May 24 fans will be graced with Speed of Darkness, the fifth installment for the band.

What can fans expect from this newest album? A street-smart sound, Motor City vibe and, potentially, a Motown jam.

This “Irish punk rock soul band” has been pumping out music for over a decade and still manages to keep moving forward. How? “Raise the bar,” said Hensley. “We’re striving to go to different places with our music.”

Recorded in Detroit, Speed of Darkness touches on life’s struggles. “There are definitely tones of what’s going on this world right now,” said Hensley.

And Flogging Molly is no stranger to struggle. This band has more determination than a virgin on prom night. After being told repeatedly that they’d never be more than a dive bar band, Flogging Molly responded with just as much intensity as their fiery live show. The proof lies in the fans, the record sales and the fact that almost every show on their current tour has been sold out.

How do they do it? How do they stay a band and love what they do after so many years? “A little alcohol,” said Hensley. But in all seriousness, this band is more like a family. “We love each other. That trumps any issue we ever have.”

In fact, these band members love each other so much, two of them got married. Dave King and violinist Bridget Regan got hitched while on tour in Tokyo. Despite the technical nuptial, when you’re in a band, you’re married to all your bandmates. Members Dennis Casey (guitar), Nathen Maxwell (bass), Robert Schmidt (mandolin, banjo), and George Schwindt (drums) would all agree with Hensley. “It’s not a perfect marriage,” he said. “But whatever is? We rise above.”

And thank the music gods for that. Let’s also take a moment to thank the band for all their hard work and the sacrifices they’ve made. It can’t be easy touring, recording and having all the normal people stuff, like a family. But they do it. And all they ask for in return is that you have a blast listening to what they’re putting down.

Hensley describes the euphoria of playing live: “Every night we played to people jumping around and having a great time. It’s hard to beat that.”

So few of us have had the rush, but for the members of Flogging Molly, it’s life. “I love what I do,” Hensley concludes. “It makes me a complete person.”

Flogging Molly :: with Moneybrother and The Drowning Men :: Congress Theater :: March 11 & 12.

Blues Traveler, Flogging Molly, G.Love & Special Sauce, Iron & Wine, Saul Williams

BLUES TRAVELER
Formed over 20 years ago, Blues Traveler is still traveling the festival circuit with their tenth album, North Hollywood Shootout, slated for release later this year. Led by frontman and harmonica extraordinaire John Popper, the 4-piece gained mainstream recognition with their 1994 album Four and popular singles such as “Run Around” and “Hook.” After bassist Bobby Sheehan overdosed on drugs in 1999, bassist Tad Kinchla and keyboardist Ben Wilson joined the band. Like other jam bands, they are known for their improvisational live shows. (Sunday, 5:15-6:15, MySpace Stage) –text: Ariel Sundel–photo: Cambria Harkey

FLOGGING MOLLY
For a band that built a career fusing American punk roots with traditional Celtic instrumentation and structures, it’s all but bizarre that this year’s Float marked the first time that Flogging Molly actually recorded in Ireland. For almost a decade, the California ensemble has tapped its heritage and crafted atmospheric, pint-raising tunes here in the States. And though this 2008 release still was mixed back on the band’s home soil, the energy and legitimacy of those sessions in the group’s adopted homeland seems to have paid off. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and also cracked the top two positions on the independent and alternative charts. For a band with such a distinct niche, it’s a surprising payoff. Then again, people who like beer (and pretending they’re Irish while drunk) is a pretty large demographic. (Sunday, 5:15-6:15, PlayStation Stage) –text: Derek Wright–photo: Lindsay Hutchens

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE
Originally formed as a duo in 1992, G. Love & Special Sauce is now an alternative hip-hop trio including Garrett Dutton as G. Love (vocals/guitar/harmonica), Jimi Prescott as Jimi Jazz (string bass), and Jeffrey Clemens as Houseman (drums/vocals). They just released their eighth studio album, Superhero Brother, on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, which they have been signed to since 2004. For longtime fans, the Philadelphia band’s music is still as lively as ever. (Sunday, 4:15-5:15, AT&T Stage) –text: Ariel Sundel–photo: Eric Kelly / www.conomocity.com

IRON & WINE
Raised in South Carolina and now residing in Austin, Sam Beam (a.k.a. Iron and Wine) burst onto the folk-rock scene in 2002 with his affable Sub Pop debut The Creek Drank the Cradle. In the vein of Will Oldham, Beam’s soft voice marries gently with his acoustic guitar generating sweeping Southern-style melodies. The prolific Beam released Our Endless Numbered Days in 2004 featuring the sonorous “Naked As We Came”, used effectively in the documentary Tarnation. Beam collaborated with Calexico for the 2005 EP In Reins and released yet another EP entitled Women King the same year. But it’s his cover of Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” that Beam is most recognized for. Last year’s third full-length The Shepherd’s Dog was well received just like all his material. Beam’s music doesn’t exactly translate as well in a festival setting as some of Lolla’s more bombastic groups, but his music is ideal for drifting away to in the hot summer sun. (Sunday, 4:15-5:15, Bud Light Stage) –text: Garin Pirnia

SAUL WILLIAMS
If a voice were a tangible thing, Saul Williams’ would be a dark, rusty razor blade, slicing mercilessly through every lie and falsification in our culture. This razor blade would act as a selfless, heroic voice in a society that has slowly become voiceless. Saul himself has described his music as “ghetto Gothic” and “hardcore dance.” His rapping and hip hop-oriented music has morphed into something that differentiates and separates itself from all other genres of music, creating a groundbreaking and incendiary new dimension in music. Dark, edgy, polyrhythmic beats act as reins to the horse of Saul’s thunderous voice, announcing itself in raucous, preternatural form: electric, eclectic, eccentric. His fearless declaration of opinion, dissatisfaction, and perspective has been strongly based on his extensive experience with spoken word poetry. Bottom line? Williams’ intense lyrics practice freedom of speech in every sense of the word. (Sunday, 5:00-6:00, Citi Stage) –text: Katie Knaub–photo: Evan Cohen

Elefant, Flogging Molly, The Honorary Title, Mi and L’au

ELEFANT
With 2003′s Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, Elefant — helmed by the really, really, really good-looking Diego Garcia — delivered an intimate 10-track album of critically lauded garage rock with an uncomplicated sound and sincere vocals. Luckily, Elefant’s long-awaited follow-up, The Black Magic Show, is like a Zantac pill taking me to my Diego Garcia happy place. More aggressive and less catchy, the New York City quartet is angling more towards the hipster dark side and sounding more new wave. Magic Show’s single “Lolita”, inspired by a brief affair with a Hollywood starlet, features an ear-catching riff that sounds like a higher-pitched version of the Strokes’ “Juicebox”. But while the music on Magic Show is edgier, Garcia’s singing is more flamboyant (a la the Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Interpol’s Paul Banks) creating a new musical yin-yang for Elefant. Magic Show waves good-bye to the dreamy, kiss-blown ballads of their last record and brings out some new Elefant inner badass. (Appearing with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at Metro on Feb. 8) –text: Charley Rogulewski

FLOGGING MOLLY
Fronted by transplanted Dubliner Dave King (vocals/guitar), Flogging Molly fuses the Irish folk-rock sensibilities of The Pogues, Thin Lizzy, and The Saw Doctors with a Rancid-esque dedication to the punk ethic to create a rich and energetic sound that can best be described as “rebel music.” Replete with fiddles, whistles, accordians, mandolins, banjos, distorted guitar crunch, up-tempo backbeats and cocky sarcastic lyrics, Flogging Molly demonstrates a true appreciation for traditional Irish folk music despite a sense of irreverence matching Led Zeppelin’s treatment of Chicago blues. The 7-piece orchestra delivers dose after dose of 3-minute speed-folk that leaves audiences with little opportunity to make sense of things before the next tune hits, initiating a fresh round of controlled hysteria. The Los Angeles-based band is currently heading up the Guinness Green 17 (for those of a drinking age) and Black 17 (for the underage kiddies with fake IDs) tours throughout the nation. (Appearing at House of Blues as part of the Guinness Black 17 Tour on Feb. 8 and as part of the Guinness Green 17 Tour on Feb. 9) –text: Mike AlKaraki

THE HONORARY TITLE
The Honorary Title is a poetry- and folk-inspired indie pop band. My brother (who, when we were kids, introduced me to the likes of Bob Dylan and Prince) loves them. For several months now, he’s been e-mailing their songs to me and typing their praises. He’s been to see them a couple of times in NYC and he describes rooms full of attentive, crowd-shushing fans enraptured by the sounds the band makes — and, even more so, by the words emotionally and convincingly sung by The Honorary Title’s frontman/guitarist/vocalist Jarrod Gorbel. In “Cut Short” (from their 2004 album, Anything But The Truth), he pleads: “My situation’s quite sad/I’m still living with my mom and my dad/But really I’m going places/Even though I’m seeing three of your faces/Please, God, let’s not resort to mini-mall parking spaces.” He sings honest-sounding things like that…and I think it’s because he’s not making it up. (Appearing for the early show at Beat Kitchen on Feb. 4) –text: Michelle C. Liffick

MI& L’AU
Minimal in practice but lavish with purpose, Mi and L’au’s self-titled release for the Young God imprint sits pretty with the heart. With the ever somber drone of Mi’s enchanting vocal muse blended with L’au’s swirling guitar work, the melodies can’t help but translate into emotions acceptable for any mood. These melodies float like the delicate journey of a snowflake, from its birthplace in the sky to its home in the hearth of this Earth. The sound is a welcome space for one’s own visualization of beauty, somewhat representative of the process by which the music was first created — the debut is said to have been written in a secluded cabin in Finland where the pair reside. Folk music is by definition stripped down and labeled for its simplicity, but this is something more than that. This is the music of compassion. (Appearing with Shelly Short and In the Country at Empty Bottle on Feb. 4) –text: Cliff Berru