Alestorm @ Amplifier, Perth(10/05/11)

Thu 12th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Yarr, it be a night of significant swashbucklin’ for many a scallywag last Tuesdee night. Oh aye, it was the return of Scottish pirate metal pioneers Alestorm. And it marked a successful return indeed, many a landlubber showing up to be keelhauled by the metal and the grog.

What better way to start the night than with Perth’s own Claim The Throne? It’s metal with a sense of humour, focusing on victorious Viking themes of pillaging and plunder but more importantly on having a good time doing it. Funnel fed on a diet of ales and lagers Claim The Throne have been steadily refining the skill of alcohol fuelled mayhem over several years and releases and have it down to a frightful art, being barely hindered by their levels of inebriation while playing now. Bassist “Lord” Jim Parker even taking a moment to extol the wisdom of playing in a state of partial fermentation, offering it as sage advice to any up and coming performers.

With samples selected from their back catalogue to their latest release Triumph and Beyond Claim The Throne delivered reflective sonnets to rollicking melodies, even being joined on stage by Alestorm’s Christopher Bowes for their somewhat signature tune Set Sail on Ale.

Supporting nationally and taking things slightly more seriously where Perth’s own Voyager. At home in Perth but even more so at home on stage, having played in several countries throughout their illustrious career, Voyager know how to deliver professional quality live music while still having fun doing it, perhaps sometimes too much fun…

Although songs like The Devil In Me and Sober serve to display the band’s full range of musical depth and abilities, rocky metallic riffs with pop sensibilities and catchy choruses through to well measured shredding, Voyager are not beyond a medley involving hits from Michael Jackson, John Farnham, The Fresh Prince and the theme song from Alf.

Not the heaviest band going around, especially with frontman and keyboardist Daniel Estrin’s confrontingly clean vocals, Voyager may not be everyone’s cup of beer but are certainly undeniable at what they do.

When the headliners, Perth’s own Alestorm (albeit from Perth, Scotland), made their way to the stage they were welcomed like returning family friends. Certainly the members of Claim The Throne felt no inhibition joining them on stage for a beer and an embrace, as they did early and often throughout Alestorm’s set.

Alestorm also clearly subscribed to Lord Jim’s methodology of liverpickling to enhance a live performance. They sung their songs between downing bottles of contraband. And they sung them of all manner of subjects. From needing more wenches and mead in their song Wenches and Mead to being keelhauled in their song Keelhauled. From rum in their song That Famous Ol’ Spiced to rum in their song Rum. Ok, there was a very strong running theme. And just to avoid any confusion there’s their song Heavy Metal Pirates which is about, well….

The pirate theme is almost as important as the metal is for this band. They make no secrets of their love for all things piratical. And it seemed to work in drawing a crowd too. The Amplifier was packed for a Tuesday night metal gig, with more than few embracing the spirit of Alestorm by sporting a Jolly Roger or a puffy sleeve. One guy looked like he might only be there because it gave him an opportunity to whip out his Captain Jack Sparrow costume.

And those that didn’t embrace it in dress embraced it in imbibement. Not unlike the Australian Perth’s rough equivalent (Claim The Throne), there is a heavy emphasis on drinking and being merry in an Alestorm performance. Of course the necessity to deliver a quality product is not forgotten by the band, who do a good job of conducting the evening, but something about a sea shanty just lends itself to reckless frivolity.

They are still a metal band though, and if you sift through the “yo-ho-ho’s” there’s some truly traditional quality metal riffs. Take the song Shipwrecked for example, which starts out with a riff that would not be out of place in a Slayer song, but the hard work of guitarist, the aesthetically appropriate Dani Evans, is shortly overrun by Bowes’ harpsichord filtered keys and throaty, scratching vocals.

Anyway, although they didn’t write it, it’s the likes of the anthemic Wolves of the Sea that personify Alestorm and please the crowds they draw, where Evans’ focus is on gang vocals rather than guitar work and the “yo-ho-ho’s” take centre stage.