Written by:	Baz Anderson
Published:	May 03, 2009
Event:	Alestorm + Týr (Website)
Location:	Rock City, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Galleries:	Alestorm, Týr - Nottingham, England, 29th April 2009 by Baz Anderson (33)

Rock City on this particular evening had a huge gathering of emo children with stupid haircuts as popular band Madina Lake were also set to be playing under the same roof as the Alestorm and Týr party. This meant that the pirates and Vikings were playing on the small stage, and that the small room was about to be packed full with a nearly sell-out audience for this tour.

The U.K. leg of the tour that is also set to visit mainland Europe had a few changes from the rest of said tour. Firstly Heidevolk were not on the bill to the annoyance and disappointment of quite a few people, and second, Alestorm were headlining with Týr supporting.

Týr

The Faroese four were first to take to the small stage in front of a ready and willing audience who were loud and gave the band their encouragement right from the start. The band kicked off with "Hold The Heathen Hammer High", which is from the new album which is set to be released in the coming weeks. This song alone was worth the wait outside in the sea of emo, as this is pretty much as fast and active Týr get. The song is a great stomper with a catchy chorus to sing along with. If this is anything to go by for the new album, we are in for a real treat. The band played the set wearing their amour until Heri took his off half way through with the encouragement of the audience, worryingly enough encouragement from the guys too. The band pulled off a fantastic set with all the usual heavy anthems of history and anti-religion to an enthusiastic audience. Heri is a great frontman who plays the part fantastically and has a way of instantly seeming friendly and genuine as well as really fitting the Viking role as if it were his own way of life. Bassist Gunnar also adds a lot to the band, always making eye contact and having fun with the audience. The band came back on at the end for a seemingly unplanned encore and played the classic "Whiskey In The Jar" in their own style to say goodbye. A fantastic set, definitely a band to see live and a band to watch for their new album coming out at the end of the month.



Alestorm

Many things have been said about Alestorm about their credibility as a band and the overuse of a certain themed gimmick involving a particular type of funny talking people. Alestorm are however hugely popular in the U.K. after just one album and always pull a large crowd where they go on this island. In the live environment Alestorm are about as fun as they get as the cheesy power metal and keyboards vibrate through the air. Singer Chris Bowes always adds his own humorous touches in between sets, part of what makes Alestorm so fun is that they are almost one of the audience themselves and so the whole set seems relaxed and as if we are watching some friends on stage. Plenty of songs from the first album were played as well as quite a few from the new, unreleased album which although sounded ok live, did go somewhat over the heads of the audience as they were unknown songs. Remember, downloading albums is piracy. These pirates were having a great time on the stage however. The music, especially Chris' keyboards are not done super precise to the album recordings, in some respect some parts are sloppy, but this isn't an issue at all as it adds to the fun element watching they keyboard-guitar being played at such a frantic pace. The set started very active and lively, but towards the end the energy levels of the set did dip a little, but not a great deal.



For the encore, Heri from Týr came back to the stage with the band and did half of the singing for the insanely catchy Eurovision song "Wolves Of The Sea", but not before the band had a little more fun on stage. Christopher produced some squirty cream from the back and proceeded to squirt it all over Heri's head, to which he wiped it off his face and planted the cream firmly back in Chris' face. Highly entertaining to watch as the band members and stage got covered in cream. The aim of Alestorm live is to have fun and to bring a huge grin to anyone watching them. Take Alestorm in the live settings, and they are one of the most amusing and entertaining bands. Both bands were fantastic and the cream-fest at the end made for one of the most memorable endings to a metal show. Even if you don't like the CD, take the time to see these guys live and you'll have a great time. Make sure you go and see this tour!



Thanks to Andy Turner for the accreditation.
Written, and photos by Barry Anderson