By Andrew Bansal
November 11th 2013, Yost Theater, Santa Ana CA: Scottish pirate metal band Alestorm embarked upon their first ever voyage as a headline act in North America with the first show at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana last night. On this journey they are bringing along two very fitting support acts in Norwegian folk metal outfit Trollfest and Los Angeles’ very own boogie rock sensation Gypsyhawk. Having seen them in LA two previous times, opening for Eluveitie in 2009 and for Kamelot in 2011, I expected an awesome show from Alestorm this time as well, but with them as the headliner and the prospect of a 90-minute set, the show promised to reach the kind of epic proportions no other Alestorm show in America has done before. Also expected, despite it being a Monday night, was a good turnout. And sure enough, the queue of people forming before the doors opened was long, as they waited to bask in this fun-filled spectacle.
Doors opened at 7 PM and the show started at 7:30 with local opener Lord Marshall, who played a set of speed/thrash metal. The music was not bad, and I could hear elements in it that would sit well with fans of bands like Alestorm and Trollfest, but the frontman certainly needs to work on his vocals a lot more. No matter how good the music is, it’s really hard to get into a band’s live performance if the vocals are not up to par. That was exactly the case with Lord Marshall. Plus they overran their set time, which is a complete no-no for local openers. Nonetheless, not a bad start to the evening.
The fine dudes in Gypsyhawk took the stage at 8:15. This was their first show featuring new guitarist Bryant Throckmorton from the Ventura-based rock n’ roll band Siren. He is replacing previous touring guitarist Ben Robbins. It’s not clear yet whether Bryant is going to be a permanent member, but the band will announce that in due course of time. As for this show, I mistakenly thought they were getting a 45-minute set because I initially had the wrong set times given to me, but as it turned out, they played for a little over 35 minutes anyway. This Yost Theater stage is the biggest I’ve ever seen Gypsyhawk perform on, and throughout their 6-song set, they definitely proved that their music and showmanship belongs on these kinds of stages, not in dive bars. Frontman Eric Harris and lead guitarist Erik Kluiber utilized the space on stage to its maximum and enhanced the impact of their show tenfold as a result. Bryant sounded excellent on his guitar as well, and if anything, he should have been dialed in a little higher in the mix. It was a pleasant surprise to see ‘Hedgeking’ in the set, and was good to note that they freshened things up from the last tour’s set list. The new unreleased song ‘The Answers We Need’ sounded better than ever, and so did the usual suspects ‘Gypsyhawk’, ‘Overloaded’, ‘The Fields’ and ‘Commander Of The High Forest’. Before they began their set, very few people in this crowd knew anything about the band, but by the end of it, Gypsyhawk had managed to win over quite a few of them. I think they will make lots of new fans on this tour, and if you’re attending an Alestorm show in America this fall, make sure you get there early enough to be blown away by Gypsyhawk’s brand of boogie rock.
Set List:
1. Gypsyhawk
2. Hedgeking
3. The Answers We Need
4. Overloaded
5. The Fields
6. Commander Of The High Forest
Next up was Trollfest, whom I had never seen and quite honestly never heard their music before. As I always do with a band I’m completely unfamiliar with, I approached Trollfest’s set with an open mind. This seven-piece band had a very goofy stage presence with bumble-bee hats and outfits, and soon after they started their set, I realized that it was more entertaining for me to watch the audience react to this band, than the band’s actual performance itself. I do like quite a few folk metal bands but unfortunately Trollfest will not go down in that category. Their music and live show did not turn out to be my cup of tea. But I did enjoy their cover of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’, and their fans’ ‘wall of death’ was fun to watch. They seemed to bring a lot of fans of their own to this show, and plenty of Trollfest shirts were seen in the audience. The guys from Southern California pagan metal band Helsott, who toured with Trollfest on this year’s Paganfest America, joined them on stage to contribute backing vocals and they looked like they were having an absolute blast while doing so, as danced away on that stage. So, even though I didn’t enjoy Trollfest’s set, I have no doubt in my mind that most people attending shows on this tour will.
At 10:15, Alestorm appeared on stage and began their pirate metal onslaught on this eagerly awaiting audience. This show brought the absolute best of Alestorm for us, as they were the headliners playing to their own fans, not having to worry about time limits or bands playing after them. Christopher Bowes is one of the funniest frontmen in metal today, and he showcased every bit of that during this show with his signature style of humor, amidst shredding on his keytar and giving it his all on the vocals. His band mates complemented him to perfection, and aside from some minor sound issues at the very beginning of the set, they nailed just about every aspect of their performance. I am not a huge fan of the whole pirate metal thing as most band playing that style get a little too over-the-top for my liking, but Alestorm is certainly one band I enjoy in this genre, as they keep it very legit with the pirate theme being presented only in the lyrics, and not using any kind of costumes or visual shtick. They had a special treat for us with the world premiere of the new song ‘Surf Squid Warfare’, which will be on their next album. They played a full 90-minute, 16-song set, leaving every single fan completely satisfied with what they witnessed in terms of the quality and quantity of Alestorm’s show.
The atmosphere in the venue was incredible, and I saw a lot of people dressed as pirates. This crowd was here to simply have a good time, and that energy definitely transfered over to the band on stage, taking their show to the next level. The venue’s sound system and lighting was excellent, and even though I’m very highly surprised that this tour does not have a Los Angeles area show, I did not regret making the trek to Orange County (or Orange ‘Canyon’, as Bowes kept calling it) for this show. Alestorm’s show is sheer entertainment, and I would always rather watch a pirate metal band like Alestorm rather than a pirate-based movie. If you’re thinking along the same lines, go see an Alestorm show on this tour.
Related – Interview: Alestorm Frontman Discusses Touring, In-N-Out Burgers, Disneyland & More
Set List:
1. The Quest
2. The Sunk’n Norwegian
3. Leviathan
4. Shipwrecked
5. Over the Seas
6. Surf Squid Warfare
7. Midget Saw
8. Nancy the Tavern Wench
9. Back Through Time
10.Wolves of the Sea (Pirates of the Sea cover)
11.Death Throes of the Terrorsquid
12.Keelhauled
13.Rumpelkombo
Encore:
14.Set Sail and Conquer
15.Captain Morgan’s Revenge
16.Rum
Remaining tour dates:
11/12 Tempe, AZ Rocky Point Cantina
11/13 Las Vegas, NV LVCS
11/14 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
11/15 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
11/16 Seattle, WA El Corazon
11/17 Vancouver, BC Funky Winkerbeans
11/18 Calgary, AB Republik
11/19 Regina, SK The Exchange
11/20 Winnipeg, MB Zoo Cabaret
11/22 Chicago, IL Reggie’s
11/23 Westland, MI Token Lounge
11/24 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s
11/25 Columbus, OH Shrunken Head
11/26 Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar
11/27 London, ON Music Hall
11/28 Toronto, ON Mod Club
11/29 Ottawa, ON Mavericks
11/30 Montreal, QC Club Soda
12/01 Quebec City, QC Le Cercle
12/02 New York, NY The Studio @ Webster Hall
12/03 Teaneck, NJ Mexicali Live
12/04 Baltimore, MD Soundstage
12/05 Atlanta, GA Masquerade