The pressure is on a little bit, thanks to The Mad Fishicist. He posted a link to my flickr site on a Hothouse Flowers message board and made a promise for me that I would have a review and a setlist.
Fiachna said that after some internet research they came to discover that Saint Monica was the patron saint of the homeless, hopeless, alcoholic and overall downtrodden. My own research finds that Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine and the patron saint of mothers, wives and battery victims...herself being all three. Perhaps ironically, Santa Monica, California is nicknamed "Homeless Capital of the West." The video below is a snippet of Hothouse Flowers' "Santa Monica." There are other videos on YouTube here. And you can see photos I took at Flickr.
The show was great, but the order of the setlist is a bit of a blur, so I won't embarrass myself by putting the songs in order, but here are the songs that I remember and know. There were a few songs that aren't on any of the albums, and I don't know the titles...plus a couple were in Gaelic.
They played:
You Can Love Me Now
Sweet Marie
Isn't It Amazing?
Better Man
Movies
Santa Monica
I Can See Clearly Now
It'll Be Easier in the Morning
Your Love Goes On
Don't Go
Si Do Mhamo I
Having been a fan for many years, I was excited to hear the old songs from People mixed in with the new songs. They haven't put out an album since early 2004, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was impressed with their presence and their professionalism. They proved in many ways that they're just a few lads from Ireland...but four lads that can play. If you are unfamiliar with Hothouse Flowers, unfortunately you're not alone. They're probably one of the most skilled and passionate bands out there...they successfully mix a flavor of rock 'n roll, American soul, and traditional Irish music. It's accessible music and the songs that they released in the 80's are still relevant and fit today. Do yourself a favor and get caught up with one of the great bands out of a country who's biggest export over the last 20 years has been music.
Buy:
and/or
Rian (Liam O'Maonlai's solo album)
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