Gigs

Gig Review: Turisas + Norther + Alestorm

Venue: Waterfront, Norwich
Date: 6 March 2008

Avast ye, landlubber! The pirate-influenced folk metal mayhem of Alestorm is on the deck doing a damned fine job of setting up what promises to be an evening of bizarre dressing-up, dressing-down, ale-swilling and dancing. The band’s strange childlike, yet heavily bearded, bassist is pumping a thick arm at the crowd all the way though ‘Wenches And Mead’. The response is varied; many stand with only bemused smiles across their faces, but most are thoroughly consumed in jigs of their own – arms around their neighbour, pints held aloft, singing at the top of their lungs. The vocalist, Christopher Bowes, cuts a dashing figure with his fearsome permed mullet and simple white smock topped off with an 80’s-style guitar-keyboard slung lazily over one shoulder. As he threatens the onslaught of ‘Captain Morgan’s Revenge’ those watching cheer merrily before applauding the band off and heading back to the bar for another bottle of yo-ho-ho.

There’s a loud throb of guitar and suddenly a ghostly figure swims into view. Norther’s Pete Lindroos has the palest of complexions, the whitest mass of locks and the coldest, most piercing of eyes. I almost expect the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme tune to kick-in but instead we get the rather kitsch new single, ‘We Rock’, instead. Lindroos has a vicious, cutting growl that reverberates through the crowd who remain fixated but uninspired. As soon as the band roll out the awesome might of ‘Death Unlimited’ the uneasy union between band and audience becomes a tight bond of pumping fists and devil-horns. In places, the softer second vocal of the effeminate brunette, Kristian Ranta, introduces an emo edge to the metal which doesn’t quite sit right. Judging by the atmosphere tonight, though, I think if they’d suddenly covered My Chemical Romance it wouldn’t have mattered.

It’s Turisas we’ve come for and, by gum, they haven’t disappointed us. Booted and suited in battledress, animal furs, war-paint and beards each member gets a rapturous reception as they step out onto the stage. They may be missing their regular accordion-player (mysteriously lost somewhere on tour) but it matters not. ‘To Holmgard And Beyond’ gets the crowd boiling nicely. The fanfare chorus is a call-to-arms for warriors, igniting the fire within, to cast aside fear and plunge on into battle. The waving plastic axes and swords in the pit are all genuine, for one night only, and now Norfolk has its own army determined to vanquish all before them. Our leader is Mathias Nygård and as we cheer he fiddles in his ear - “Oh wow”, he laughs, “we have a problem. You’re so loud I can’t hear myself!” But he is keen to spur us on as we roll into ‘A Portage To The Unknown’ – not nearly as epic but replete with intricate orchestration.

The band pauses for breath allowing Nygård to moan verily of the blasting air-con units on the back of his neck. Stage-hands respond immediately shutting them down allowing him to comment that he wants it “hot and sweaty in the pit tonight”. He then rambles away, as he warned he may do when we spoke to him earlier. He talks of drinking, dancing and sharing in good times which eventually leads him nicely into introducing a round of ‘One More’ which gets a surprisingly rapturous reception. All the way through their set the band cavorts around the stage, each member daubed in their own individual marks of war-paint. Guitarist Jussi Wickström is all beard and guitar with a mess of face-paint giving the impression that he’s had his face kicked in. Violinist Olli Vänskä, meanwhile, looks like he’s been made up to look like a Cherokee Indian – and by a six-year-old too – as arrows of red and black indiscriminately adorn his visage. Then turning to Nygård you just know he’s spent the longest time in front of the mirror as he has oblique diagonals dissecting his face and some impressive thick marks on his arms to match.

‘In The Court Of Jaresleif’ kicks off with its insanely rapid accordion and the crowd are inspired to dance; in circles, arm-in-arm and on the spot. It’s a magnificently uplifting feast of a song and it ends with another volley of audience adoration. From here the band can do no wrong. Hannes Horma’s pumping fists, Vänskä’s inane ramblings on the glory of the violin – “I have the bow!” and Nygård’s endearing, yet unforgiveable, overuse and mispronunciation of the name of the city he’s in – “we are going to rule Norr-Witch”, he threatens. There’s time for a wag at the front to ask if they’re going to do Eurovision sometime soon. “No”, replies Nygård darkly, “we are comfortable with our sexuality. That is for another band to do”. Meeeow. They end with ‘Rasputin’ and ‘Battle Metal’ before moving on to their aftershow party and the promise of more glorious Finnish mayhem. Now Turisas have the North America tour firmly in their sights – can anyone stop the inevitable advance of this Viking invasion?

For fans of: Alcohol, Vikings, Pirates
Band links = Turisas / Norther / Alestorm

John’s review also appears in Subba-Cultcha.

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