“Well, I know, I miss more than hit / With a face that was launched to sink.” And so begins the soulful ballad “The Worst Day Since Yesterday” by the Celtic punk band Flogging Molly, an anthem to sway to for anyone who has had a day from hell and might be nursing a pint. Flogging Molly has had more hits than misses since being formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. The seven-member band, with Irish vocalist Dave King front and center, takes the stage August 30 at McDonald Theatre to perform its mix of Irish melodies and instrumental work with the frantic tempos of punk. “Drunken Lullabies” and “Float” are just two of the band’s many hits, yet it’s “The Worst Day Since Yesterday,” from the group’s 2000 debut album Swagger, that can bring a smile to the luckless. Think accordion and acoustic guitar at the start (“Fallin’ down to you, sweet ground / Where the flowers they bloom”), the song has an almost hopeful toe-tapping quality to it by the end (“Hell says hello, well, it’s time I should go / To pastures green, that I’ve yet to see”). By the end of the song, you just might feel better.
Flogging Molly, with support from The Bronx and Vandoliers, performs 8 pm Wednesday, August 30, at McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette Street. Tickets are $45.