Galactic Pirate Partyin’

Picture a place where people are dressed as pirates, wenches, and bananas. There’s live music. Beer is a plenty and there are specialty vendors eagerly awaiting to exchange coin for goods. No, this isn’t your local Renaissance Festival or Comic Con, it’s Elevation in Grand Rapids for Alestorm, Gloryhammer, and Glyph.

Glyph Defy’d the Night - er, begun the night. This was my second time seeing them, their first time also with Alestorm but in Detroit. It was only their seventh show back then. Between then and now there has been one major change in the band. They have a new lead singer, Barbara Blackthorne [also of Empress] whose vocals brings a stronger sound to their intergalactic power metal. I can’t wait to see what this band does next and am eagerly awaiting their next album. For now I’ll have their Invictus EP on repeat.

Glyph was only the pre-launch of the evening. Now that we are cleared for takeoff, Masters of the Galaxy Gloryhammer took the stage. To this day Gloryhammer has some of my favorite onstage antics. At one point Vocalist Sozos Michaels has an epic battle against the Goblin King of the Darkstorm Galaxy. They take a swing at each other.
It’s getting dicey. WHO WILL WIN? Spoiler, it’s Gloryhammer.

Looking for more epic battles? Maybe you want to come back down from space?
Luckily you’ve landed on a ship just in time for Pirate Party Time with Alestorm!
Their set started with quite a bit of fog, but it made their giant rubber duck look like it was coming back from a ghostly adventure.
I can’t decide on my favorite moment of their set, so here are 3 in no particular order:
1. Mid-show cookie break [courtesy of someone from the crowd]
2. Any time Barbara Blackthorne of Glyph came on stage to sing with them
3. Swaying and raising my glass during Nancy the Tavern Wench
[ honorable mention: The tech in the back wearing the duck shirt who was living his absolute best life during Banana ]


Enough words - it’s picture time!

Alestorm

Gloryhammer

Glyph