A man with long hair playing a keyboard.

A man with long hair playing a keyboard.


Alestorm, Trollfest, & Gypsyhawk opening night at The Yost Theater Santa Ana, Ca 11-11-13 (Exclusive Coverage)

On a chilly Monday night on November 11th The Yost Theater in Santa Ana, CA got invaded by pirates, swarmed by a beehive of trolls, and warped back to the 70’s. How can all this be possible in one night you may ask? Well it can, if you set sail and attend the first ever headlining Alestorm North America tour. This was the tour’s opening night and as much as fans were excited for the show, they did not know what to expect since they were unfamiliar with some of the bands on this tour.

First up was Gypsyhawk, a 70’s rock quartet from Pasadena, California. This band brings the audience back to the roots of rock and heavy metal. Performing a 6-song set that included “Hedgeking”, “Commander Of The High Forest” and new unreleased song “The Answers We Need”; Gypsyhawk wasted no time. Typically in the past the band has played smaller stages. Given the opportunity to play a bigger stage, Eric Harris (vocals/bass) and Erik Kluiber (lead guitar) used the space to their advantage which helped make their set more lively and interesting to watch. This was also the night where the band showed off their new Bryant Throckmorton (rhythm guitar), although not moving around the stage as much; he made the band sound whole. Ian Browns (drums) decorated his drum kit with a hung puppet of “Animal” from The Muppets and the pounding from kick drums completed the package. If anyone in the audience was unfamiliar with this band before the show, they sure as hell know who they are now! After their set, the band’s merchandise booth had a few customers and the band signed anything for their old and new fans. If Gypsyhawk comes to your town make sure you get to the show early to catch them and take a trip back to the 70’s when music was less focused on crazy break downs and more of a pure rock n roll sound.

Next The Yost got infested by bees. Well maybe not real bees; it was the 7-piece folk metal band Trollfest from Oslo, Norway dressed as bees. Recently touring through the U.S. with Paganfest, there were a lot of audience members already wearing highly decorative Trollfest gear anticipating to see this band on stage. The buzzing energy of the band’s stage presence really hyped up the crowd as a few mosh pits broke out throughout their performance including a wall of death. There was a moment where the bassist Lodd Bolt dove off stage into the audience at the finishing of the song in the crowd. The biggest highlight of their performance was their cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and a guest appearance of members from a California local band Helsott. They toured with Helsott during Paganfest and apparently like to prank each other’s sets. After their performance, the band made an appearance by their merchandise booth offering free hugs and signing with purchase. The band seemed to be very appreciative of their fans as they made sure everyone in the band signed the sold merchandise for their fans. Make sure you don’t swat away their performance when Trollfest is in your town!

Shiver me timbers! It was finally time for Alestorm, the best pirate metal band in the genre. Embarking from Scottland on their maiden voyage of their first headlining tour in North America this show was already a promising one to the fans as they seen them on tour a few times opening for other bands. This time Alestorm called the shots and played a 90 minute set. At the start of their performance Christopher Bowes had to conquer some sound issues that got resolved quickly. Bowes is known by many to be a goofball on stage which helped him really entertain the crowd as he introduced the band to the crowd, played his keytar with his face, and kept referring to Orange County, California as the “Orange Canyon”. The rest of the band complimented him as well as they all played with crazy energy. Alestorm played a lot of the crowd favorites including a surprise preview of never before heard “Surf Squid Warfare” which will be on their upcoming album. The band closed out the show with “Captain Morgan’s Revenge” which included a wall of death, organized by Bowes and Rum, where at the end of the song Bowes jumped off stage to body surf through the audience. At the end of the show Bowes stood outside taking pictures with fans as they exited out of the theater.

The opening night of the Alestorm North America Tour did not disappoint. For a Monday night concert, The Yost was pretty packed with attendees who left the show with a smile on their face wishing that it was Friday so they can still party! If this tour comes to your town make sure you go or you will definitely regret it as this tour will be talked about for a long time to come!


Catch Alestorm North America Tour:
11/11 – Santa Ana, CA @ Yost Theater
11/12 – Tempe, AZ @ Rocky Point Cantina
11/13 – Las Vegas, NV @ LVCS
11/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
11/15 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
11/16 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
11/17 – Vancouver, BC @ Funky Weatherbeans
11/18 – Calgary, AL @ The Republik
11/19 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
11/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Zoo
11/22 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
11/23 – Westland, MI @ Token Lounge
11/24 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
11/25 – Columbus, OH @ The Shrunken Head
11/26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
11/27 – London, ON @ Music Hall
11/28 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
11/29 – Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks
11/30 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
12/01 – Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle
12/02 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
12/03 – Teaneck, NJ @ Mexicali Live
12/04 – Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage
12/05 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
12/08 – San Jose, CR @ Finca La Lucha
Written by Karina Parker

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