PIRATE PARTY IN TORONTO WITH ALESTORM, TWILIGHT FORCE & GREYHAWK

Last week the Mostly Canadian tour sailed into Toronto featuring Alestorm, Twilight Force, and Greyhawk at the very appropriate lakeside venue Rebel.

The night kicked off with Greyhawk from Seattle. I absolutely loved their set live, more than I thought I would to be honest, as I’m not a huge power metal fan (crazy, I know, as I LOVE my fantasy). But their blended style of power and traditional heavy metal had me happily banging my head the entire set. 

I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the frontman situation at the moment, but for this tour they had Dan Cleary from Juno winning band Striker rocking the vocals which was a fantastic choice, it really felt like he was a regular member of the band.  Guitarists Jesse Berlin and Rob Steinway slayed on the riffs, some really wicked heavy metal guitar work for sure. Darin Wall was a constant source of energy, wielding his bass like a battle axe, injecting personality into every song and was awesome to photograph! And  Zach Bates kept the whole thing rolling with rock solid timing behind the kit, always an important job.

They played a short but powerful set, and definitely earned themselves some new fans. I regret not picking up a shirt at the show, they had a Canadian themed one specifically for this tour which I absolutely loved. Bands should do this sort of thing more often, it is massively appreciated. Greyhawk wrapped up the night with my favourite track, Don’t Wait for the Wizard. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long for another Greyhawk Toronto show!

SETLIST
Spellstone
Take a Stand
Ascension
Warriors of Greyhawk
Guitar solo
Don't Wait for the Wizard

Next up, Twilight Force. The closest thing you can get to a concert version of Dungeons and Dragons I think! The band rocked their usual fantasy character attire, and I saw some fans in the crowd as well with cloaks and other mystical outfits! Their lyrics, highly fantastical, and just really fun, which they carry over with their stage performance. Digging into their history just a little bit, I realize that they all have on stage characters for themselves. I wonder if they have backstories? I’m not sure if I’m supposed to use their real names or character names here? 

I’ll just say it was a really fun set by the Swedish symphonic power metal band, with every member absolutely locked in to deliver a high energy, entertaining performance. Obviously a lot of Twilight Force fans were in the crowd, I enjoyed photographing not just the band on stage, but some of the fans singing passionately as if the fate of the realm depended on it! Final note, I’ve never heard so many wizards laughing in my life. If you know, you know.

SETLIST
Twilight Force
Dragonborn
Thundersword
Flight of the Sapphire Dragon
Twilight Horizon
Dawn of the Dragonstar
The Power of the Ancient Force

Last, but certainly not least, Alestorm, who transformed Rebel into a floating pirate tavern the moment they took the stage. What can I say about Alestorm? They’re really fucking fun. If you want a serious band, singing about serious things, being all serious, then do NOT come to an Alestorm show (and you sound boring). The trademark giant inflatable ducks on stage, the absurd humour, the drinking, it’s a fun time. I don’t often drink at shows, but even I had to go get a beer while watching their set! 

Frontman Christoper Bowes commanded the stage with his usual cheeky charm and the rest of the band kept the party going the whole time! Every single member nailed their roles both musically, but also performance wise, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun doing so. Highlights include the moshpit turning into a row pit? Not sure what you call it, but everyone was sitting and rowing, cause why not? As well as a special shark appearance. It was really cool seeing Alestorm in this venue, which is typically a nightclub, as they were able to make use of all the fancy lights and screens that wrapped around the stage to take the party up to 11.

The original plan was to leave a few songs early, catch the bus, get home at a reasonable time, snore I know. But it didn’t happen, I couldn’t tear myself away from the pirate fun, or miss one of my favourite tracks “Fucked with An Anchor”. Ahh, poetry.

All good things must end, as did this show. Thankfully I’ll be seeing Alestorm again at Wacken Open Air. They're closing out the festival on the Saturday night with a 1am performance… It should be interesting!

SETLIST
Keelhauled
Killed to Death by Piracy
The Sunk'n Norwegian
Zombies Ate My Pirate Ship
Mexico
Under Blackened Banners
Banana
Hangover
Hyperion Omniriff
Nancy the Tavern Wench
Alestorm
Magnetic North
1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)
The Storm
P.A.R.T.Y
Shit Boat (No Fans)

ENCORE
Drink
Wooden Leg!
Fucked With an Anchor
Rumpelkombo