Ship Ahoy! [Gig Review]

East Town Pirates + Lipshock

The Tap N’ Tumbler/ Sitwell Tavern

Nottingham/ Derby

06/07.02.14

Last September I was Shanghaied by a scurvy bunch of pirates I sailed off into the seven seas of sin with the East Town Pirates, they were the support band for JD & The FDCs on two back to back gigs at the tap n’ tumbler Nottingham and the following night at the Sitwell tavern Derby. They were an instant hit with me, I bought both of their albums the eponymously titled East Town Pirates released in 2010 and the 2013 album Seven Seas of Sin and I’ve hardly stopped playing them ever since.

So another year and two more back to back gigs at the same venues they played last year, this time however the East Town Pirates are travelling from their home port of Ipswich to the East Midlands to headline both shows.

The first of these being at the tap n’ tumbler in Nottingham and the decks have been swabbed, the bar staff have matching pirate eye patches and there’s some spiced rum punch served up in a Captain Morgan’s cannonballs with the dubious title of ‘cannonballs deep’ it had to be drunk so it did me hearties oooh arrrrr!

Support on both the shows comes in the form of Coventry hard rockers Lipshock who describe their musical style as “trashy, hook-laden rock n’ roll from the heart of the UK” and they sure do have an eclectic sound, there’s Black Sabbath style riffs, sleazy vocals reminiscent at times of Buckcherry, it’s hard to pin this band’s style down. The twin guitar sound perfected by Thin Lizzy back in the 70’s is all there and it sounds to me like the creative influences behind their song writing is harvested from many sources ranging from Velvet Revolver to The Sweet. The cover that they finished the Derby show with was Wild Cherry’s Play That Funky Music (White Boy) well I didn’t see that coming, well I did because they played it in Nottingham the night before but it was not what you’d expect from this band. If you get the chance go check out Lipshock don’t hesitate, they had the girls at the Sitwell tavern dancing, a big stamp of approval and no mistake.

Ahoy me hearties it’s all hands on deck for tis time to weigh anchor and splice the mainsail for our journey to the seven seas of sin as the East Town Pirates (ETP) prepare to fire a broadside salvo, so avast ye scurvy varmints and come along a me. There’s no way I can finish this review writing like that and indeed apart from the lyrics of their songs the ETP don’t go overboard with the old pirate thing, musically they’re a rock punk band as opposed to a punk rock band. Hailing as they do from the east coast port of Ipswich it’s easy to see where they got their name and the crew members are, Rikki Rumoldew (lead vocals) Shameless Seamus (bass/vocals) Kutthroat Kev (guitar/vocals) Jonnie Murder (guitar/vocals) and last but not least Zac Cousteau (drums).

From their first moment on stage right to their last the ETP ignite a powder keg among the audience with their infectiously addictive songs, songs like Glory Days, Ship Ahoy and the titular East Town Pirates are guaranteed to get you singing and even dancing along. Lead singer Rikki is 100% punk rock with his delivery while the rest of the band provide harmonic backing vocals throughout the set of lively songs, most of which have a story to tell.

The Ballad of Tobias Gill is one such song, based on the true story of a negro Dragoon found guilty of murder in 1750 it was only after he’d been hanged that they realised he was innocent. Another song is The Revenge of Emmy Tot it’s about how a lady was abducted by a Dutch sea captain and how subsequently she escapes by cutting his head off and The Curse of Captain Blood is another tale of caution.

John Dobbs’ Bones is witty ditty about how when someone committed suicide they used to be buried face down at a crossroads, all these songs are introduced by Rikki like he’s auditioning for Jackanory.

Every song is a jig dancing gem all played out tongue in cheek the lyrics of Throw Your Arms Around Me Darling are worthy of a ‘carry on’ double entendre “let me take you in the galley let me love you fore and aft let me chase you round the poop deck cos’ I know it makes you laugh” queue Sid James laugh ooh no stop messin’ about. At the Sitwell gig the ETP played a brand new song Voodoo Pirate Rock n’ Roll it came over as being more ‘glam rock’ than punk and if there was any justice in this world it would be number one in the hit parade (does that even happen any more?) this song was dedicated to Mr. Jamie Delerict of JD & The FDCs fame who was lurking about at the Sitwell, it’s not often I see him in his civvies.

Both these gigs were maximum fun, they made the sun shine indoors while it blew a gale outside and I have to say this, having only seen the ETP a couple of times before from the moment I walked in the tap n’ tumbler they personally came over to talk to me as if we were old ship mates, that kind of personal touch can make all the difference when it comes to show time. In Derby the ETP came into the Weatherspoon’s pub for something to eat before the gig, I happened to be there as well, we all sat around a big table as if we were in the ships galley eating hard tack or was it Nachos? Anyway the upshot of all this was, I think I’ve been hired as their catering manager, “it says two sausages” Rikki.

The night after the Sitwell gig the boys were setting sail for Coventry to round off a three gig raid on the east midlands but I’m sure we’ll be able to shout ship ahoy!  Before too long when the East Town Pirates next sail into port to play for us their nautical ditties of smuggling and mutiny.

Check out both bands on facebook…

East Town Pirates: https://www.facebook.com/easttownpirates.1

Lipshock: https://www.facebook.com/lipshock

GD Manofmetal.