Alestorm
13th February 2019
Galatos, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
With little more than the clothes on their backs and the sandals strapped to their feet, Alestorm battled both scurvy and the elements, sailing across the Pacific Ocean to reach their beloved fans in Auckland, New Zealand…
Well, ok, they used a plane. But the intent was there.
Led by the kilt-wearing and lager swilling Christopher Bowes who was born in the rather aptly named town of Gravesend, the five pirate metallers brought their own brand of sea shanty’s to a packed out and sweaty as all hell Galatos. Facing down a crowd made up of hundreds of people who looked like they had raided the local two-dollar shops for every fake pirate hat, eye-patch and inflatable sword they had would be no easy task; but Alestorm are made of sterner stuff than that!
Smashing out ‘Keelhauled’, ‘Alestorm’ and the rather popular ‘Magnetic North’ which saw keyboard player Elliot Vernon howl his backing vocals like a man possessed by Davy Jones himself, Alestorm had the crowd’s eyes watering within moments; Bowes leaning out over the lip of the stage with his snow-white keytar, a maniacal look painted across his face. A fairly recent addition to the band, Hungarian guitarist Máté Bodor made his presence known early, ripping out blistering solos at the drop of a hat; across from him bassist Gareth Murdock was almost a visual tribute to the hair metal bands of the 80’s, his pleather clad long legged stance anchoring him to the spot.
At times the stage is a whirlpool of hair, beer and instruments as Bowes, Bodor and Murdock swirl about, never once missing a beat; while their music is laced with tales of the sea and an obviously slightly depraved sense of humour – Bowes at one point asking the audience if they like to drink beer and shove pizza up their ass – Alestorm are a undeniably technically proficient band who incorporates elements of thrash, death and black metal. As the fans hollered along to ‘The Sunk’n Norwegian’ the band looked impressed at their tenacity, the shared exuberance of both parties only seeming to drive each one harder. Proving that they were truly at one with the pirate life, a large section of the crowd dropped to the floor during ‘Nancy the Tavern Wench’ and rowed as if their lives depended upon it, the hilarity of the scene seeing Bowes and Bodor break out in wide grins.
The chest excavating death metal of ‘1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)’ was soon followed by the pop beats of Taio Cruz’s ‘Hangover’, the cover a seemingly odd addition to the set list but one that works due to both the lyrical content and the sheer madness of the band. Songs sung in German, beer sculling and intimate moments that may or may not have involved tongue action between Bowes and Bodor littered the rest of the set, Alestorm disappearing backstage for the obligatory encore game which the crowd threw themselves behind one hundred and ten percent.
Returning for a larger than life three-song encore, Alestorm took every drop of sweat, blood and tears that the audience had left to offer, a giant circle pit in the middle of the room threatening to bore straight through the floorboards themselves. Finishing on ‘Fucked with an Anchor’, Alestorm were almost drowned out by the fans screaming the expletive laden chorus back at them, middle fingers being thrown left, right and centre; all in comradery of course…
Life has often proved itself to be far too serious, so grab a beer and catch Alestorm on tour if you can for a guaranteed night of debaucherous, pirate themed fun.
Were you there at Galatos for this booze soaked Pirate Metal spectacular? Or have you seen Alestorm perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Keelhauled
- Alestorm
- Magnetic North
- Mexico
- Over The Seas
- The Sunk’n Norwegian
- No Grave But The Sea
- Nancy The Tavern Wench
- Rumpelkombo
- 1741 (The Battle Of Cartagena)
- Hangover [Taio Cruz cover]
- Pegleg Potion
- Bar Und Imbiss
- Captain Morgan’s Revenge
- Shipwrecked
- Drink [encore]
- Wolves Of The Sea [encore]
- Fucked With An Anchor [encore]
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