Flogging Molly @ The Garage, 25 August

If there's one thing Flogging Molly are good at, it's pulling in a diverse crowd. Leathered and studded punks, muscle freaks, kilted hellions; they're all here for an evening of jigging, boozing and pitting. What they aren't here for is Marvel Heights brand of uber-melodic indie rock. A bit of a shame as there isn't much here not to like. The riffs are sharply infectious, Sarah Dyer's voice carries an aggressive charm and thankfully both manage to shy away from the saccharine trappings of most bands who have their sights set on tunefulness. Nonetheless, there's barely a glimpse of movement on the floor and thus a great opportunity is missed.

In their defence, it's always going to be a challenge squaring up to a Flogging Molly crowd and as the band roll out The Likes Of You Again the reason is glaringly obvious. Put simply, an ordinary act can't get this kind of reaction, where every joule of energy the band put out is matched threefold by the crowd. Dave King dementedly dances from one side of the stage to the other – another whisky-fuelled pit spontaneously erupts. Bridget Regan and Matt Hensley threaten to ignite their instruments through sheer friction – cue a bout of arm-in-arm dancing from the mohawked masses.

It's this sense of camaraderie between band and crowd that is so hard to imitate, and part of that is down to King's earthy banter, heartfelt and unapologetic in its delivery and filled with the kind of anecdotes that you'll chuckle at long after the lights have come up. That's not even counting the hearty to sing-a-long to Rebels Of The Sacret Heart, the violent eruption for Devil's Dance Floor and a sweaty, bouncing run-through of Drunken Lullabies that leaves the room breathless. Leave it to the Irish (descended) to remind us just how fun punk can be.