Captain Loveguns and the Tale Telling Dead Men + Fariers Wear Boots + Valentone - 19th July 2008
Reviewed by Martin Stapleton
For the last few weeks, posters have appeared increasingly, to advertise a 'secret' gig! Heads have been scratched, chins stroked, curiosity has reached fever pitch. Well now all can be revealed as, for one night only, level 2 Esquires is proud to receive a visit from Captain Loveguns and the Tale Telling Dead Men. It's an original rock opera, which is something akin to Guns'n'Roses meets Carry On Blackadder in the Pirates Of The Carribean!!! The main characters in this buccaneering tale of skullduggery consist of dandy hero - Captain Lovegun (Matt 'HeKz' Young), 5 Shots McGee - the bar man (Danny 'HeKz' Young), Alice Killah (Robbie 'Killer' Miller), and Howling Barney Cool (Fergus 'Lovemuscle' Shipman). They are joined at various stages by many other sword flashing pirates, plus the majority of the audience have dressed suitably for the occasion!
The set of shanties build up in seven stages. "Stormy Monday" sees our hero washed up at The Ship Tavern, looking for a drink and to find a new crew. While "Pirate War" sees their joy disrupted by the appearance of the nast Sir Henry Ian Tyrant who is the captain's deadly enemy. There is worse to come as "The Island Of Doom" sees the crew come face to face with the dreaded beast. Thankfully they all survive to then search for the hidden buried treasure, before taking part in "The Final Battle". The crew know its going to be difficult, but then again "It's a long way to the top (if you wanna rock'n'roll)"!
The whole performance has been richly entertaining, and a triumph for the hard working efforts of the whole team to totally transform level 2 into Admiral Benbow's Inn! The hilarious interplay on stage between the young performers is to be commended, while the music and songs are superb. There is talk of a sequel. I certainly hope so. Just make sure you don't miss it and be sure to bring Cap'n Flint with you!
As a prelude to this piratical evening, we are firstly entertained by Valentone Unplugged, well two lads from this popular young local band. It's acoustic, deep and dark. Following are Faeries Wear Boots, a quartet who specialise in reels and jigs because, as mandolin playing Faerie Crissie points out, "even pirates like this music". The celtic folk tunes make sure everyone in enraptured and absorbed as instruments as varied as the bodhran and flute are enjoyably utilised. The look, feel and sound is something a little different from the norm and it is very much in keeping with the rest of the evening.