By Daniel Bird
Every deckhand in Grand Rapids came to drink, plunder and party with the pirates in Alestorm on Wednesday, March 20th at Elevation! Aptly located next to the Grand River and just a few blocks south of the heart of the city, Elevation is the lower venue of The Intersection, a concert mainstay of the Grand Rapids area for the past 4 decades. Steeped with local legend history and memories, the three tiered venue has seen local Michigan bands like La Dispute and Still Remains rise to legend status in the global music scene and swashbuckling fans had already lined up around the block a half hour before the doors opened at 6, eagerly waiting to get their pirate party on.
Comprising members of Gatekeeper, Greyhawk, Hjelvik, and Ravenous, the aliens in the intergalactic power metal powerhouse known as Glyph opened their second ever show with their unique blend of cosmic synths and roaring guitars, performing songs about drinking cosmic ales and slaying dragons. They fucking HATE dragons. The band also commanded the crowd to open circle pits that rivaled black holes and could rip a hole in the space time continuum, and were an absolute blast to watch perform their songs When the World Was Young and Defy The Night.
Introduced by the drones of druids, the Italian folk metal band, Elvenking, took the stage and transported the venue to a place of fantasy with an incredible balance of the delicate sounds of violins alongside blasting, primal drums. Unfortunately their violinist, Lethien, was unable to make the first leg of this tour but recorded their parts specifically for these first couple of shows for songs like The Wanderer and Ethel and it was flawless. They were an incredible band to watch and their years of touring and recording definitely showed how well skilled these musicians are.
If you get the chance to catch Alestorm on this tour, batten your hatches because they bring the party to the umpteenth degree. Kicking off their set with Keelhauled in front of a MASSIVE blown up rubber duck, they proved they were here to take no prisoners, especially with songs like Under Blackened Banners and Voyage of the Dead Maruader, the latter of which had guest vocals performed by Barbara Blackthorn.
Slowing things down in the middle of their set, they played their ballad Nancy The Tavern Wench, and the crown turned into a mosh pit of rowers, rowing to the beat of the beautiful waltz which I happily and sweatily joined, heaving and hoeing with the crowd around me.
The party was turned back up to 11 with P.A.R.T.Y. and Drink, and they closed out their set with fan favorite, Fucked With an Anchor, happily slinging out middle fingers and fuck you’s to a roaring crowd. You seriously need to add this band to a concert bucket list and catch these guys live, photos and words do no justice to the experience that was Alestorm.
