By Andrew Bansal
February 18th 2015, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Scottish pirate metal mainstays Alestorm embarked on the ‘Piratefest 2015’ North American headline tour in late January 2015, with support acts Swashbuckle, The Dread Crew Of Oddwood and Rainbowdragoneyes. Swashbuckle’s involvement on the tour was only up till February 15, but the remaining three bands arrived in West Hollywood for a gig at the Whisky-A-Go-Go last Wednesday February 18, with local band Devil’s Alley slated to open the show. Folk/pirate metal shows are invariably successful in Los Angeles, and the hype and anticipation surrounding this event indicated that the case would be no different this time either.
An extremely long queue of ticket holders and prospective ticket buyers, many dressed as pirates, stood waiting outside when I arrived at the venue at 7:30 PM. Doors opened a little after 8, and the Whisky was packed within no time. The wait was not long before Devil’s Alley started proceedings at 8:30 with an excellent 25-minute set which was very positively received by this audience. I wouldn’t describe them as a pirate metal band but with an elaborate fantasy-based stage setup consisting of costumes and props, as well as with their music itself, Devil’s Alley bring plenty of elements a pirate metal crowd can genuinely appreciate. As a result, this set of theirs yielded a far better response for them than the last time I saw them at this venue, opening for Fates Warning. Led by heavily costumed singer Marky DeSade, Devil’s Alley brought great entertainment value to this show, including a brilliant rendition of Judas Priest’s ‘Breaking The Law’ with their own lyrics, and eventually turned out to be the most enjoyable band of the night from my perspective.
Next up was Rainbowdragoneyes, a one-man act solely comprising a vocalist and a machine emanating 8-bit noises. After an ideal start provided by Devil’s Alley, this performance came across as a little misplaced in my opinion, and Rainbowdragoneyes should have been the opening act, coming in before the actual bands playing live music. Either that, or it could have also been interesting to have this between bands, much like how Author & Punisher, a very different one-man act, is going to perform at this year’s upcoming Psycho California festival. I was unable to appreciate the style of 8-bit pirate music presented by Rainbowdragoneyes, but some people in this audience seemed to be into what he was doing. With that said, his demands and suggestions for circle pits went largely unanswered and the response he got was lackluster at best. Not everyone’s cup of tea, to say the least.
It was then the turn of The Dread Crew Of Oddwood to maraud the stage with their interpretation of folky pirate music. They enjoy a large, loyal fan base around these parts, and as expected, all of them turned up to support the band here. These fans were seen having the time of their lives, dancing and singing along to The Dread Crew’s tunes. In terms of the performance and command over the crowd, nothing negative can possibly be said about the band, but musically I find them very far from anything I could relate to or enjoy. I discovered this very quickly the first time I saw them at Complex, but decided to give it another chance and still found it hard to grasp. They do fit the Piratefest lineup perfectly, as was evident from this crowd’s reaction throughout their long set, and Alestorm fans attending any of the remaining shows on the tour would most probably dig them.
By the time Alestorm were ready to hit the stage at 11 PM, the Whisky was completely sold out and it came to a situation where Sunset Strip walkers-by trying to purchase tickets were being turned away. Alestorm descended upon the stage, as the Whisky, packed to the rafters, collectively lost its mind. Mosh/dance pits constantly accompanied the band’s performance, and the volume of noise inside the building was going through the roof. The band played all the songs their fans would want and expect to hear, and put forth a glowing representation of all things they stand for musically and otherwise. But, very early into their set, I realized that I was definitely not enjoying this Alestorm performance anywhere near as much as I did the previous times I saw them, and I was trying to understand why that was the case. For one, the guitar, when not accompanied by the keyboard or keytar, sounded too muddy and it kept bothering me throughout the set. But mainly, I felt the pirate act was a bit overdone, much more so than their previous LA shows, and it took the focus away from the music to a large extent. But songs like ‘Shipwrecked’ and ‘Keelhauled’ were still as great as always, and nothing can be taken away from Alestorm in terms of the level of performance.
All in all, this crowd had a great time enjoying themselves to the fullest with Alestorm and the other bands that played their piratefest, and one might conclude that consumption of alcohol is an extremely important ingredient when it comes to being able to enjoy this type of concert. As for myself, pirate metal has most certainly reached its expiration date and I don’t imagine convincing myself to handle any more full-on pirate metal shows in future.