Mid-June has come and gone, and it was my great pleasure to attend the Northern California Pirate Festival in Vallejo. Having attended this festival each of its three years, I’d love to say that I’ve witnessed it grow into something fantastic, but in this rare case no growth was necessary – never have I seen an event so much hit the ground running as this. The 2009 season proved every bit as worthy an event as its two predecessors as the waterfront park was again converted into a full-on pirate festival for two days during Fathers’ Day weekend.

The first thing that stands out about NorCal is its curbside appeal. While this isn’t a feature many festivals boast, NorCal manages to set a new standard with two enormous ship’s masts that mark the festival entrance. Depending on when you arrive, there might even be a boisterous scalliwag yelling from the rigging. Upon entering the festival proper, the grounds are filled with what must be hundreds of piratey vendors – clothing, weapons, piratey arts and crafts as well as pirate-themed teas and T-shirts. Taking it all in required several passes, as did the food court, which always boasts a variety rarely seen. Maybe it’s a California thing, or maybe NorCal stands alone, but never before at a pirate festival have I seen artichoke hearts, duck and quail, or fried oysters (although the more usual turkey legs and chili dogs are of course available as well.)

Entertainment throughout the day consisted of music by The Pirates Charles )who I still maintain to be one of the best live pirate bands currently in the circuit), shanty legends Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch, Queen Anne’s Revenge, Mr. Mac, The Roving Tars, and of course Bay Area natives The Seadogs. Non-musical acts included weapons demonstrations by The Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries, and it was also a real treat to finally catch Captain Jack Spareribs’ show, which – get this – is actually really, really funny (Jack Sparrow lookalikes always make me uneasy – as do puppets.)

One of this festival’s other great (and fortunate) assets is the remarkable diversity of its attendees. Sure, there are the normal folk and pirate reenactors – but I’m talking about the vast number of people that find new and creative ways to merge the pirate genre with whatever strikes their fancy. This year alone I saw pirate punks, Pirate Elvis (the ONLY pirate king, imo), pirate zombies, pirate mermaids, pirate sailors, and even a gay pirate bunny. And yes, there were indeed airship pirates, which is rapidly becoming a gristle in my craw, so let me clarify for those of you that need it…

(begin soapbox)
At an event such as NorCal, Airship Pirates are fair game. But this does NOT mean all steampunk is piratey. Steampunk elephant hunters, bug exterminators, or undead railroad conductors have nothing to do with pirates – take that psuedo-victorian sci-fi lark elsewhere.
(end soapbox)

Oh, lest I forget, Saturday night included a new addition to the festival – an afterparty. Held at “The Cantina”, a local mexican restaurant, the first few hours featured music DJed by none other than myself, with The Pirates Charles taking the stage later on to close out the evening in a truly splendid fashion.

To me, the NorCal Pirate Festival remains one of the best in the business. Even the editor of No Quarter Given, Jamaica Rose, who’s likely been to more pirate festivals than anyone on the planet, once told me she places it handily in the top three (alongside Gasparilla and Pirates in Paradise.) Non-pirate types will likely get their fill in one day, but those of us a bit more hopelessly addicted to the subject can flesh out the weekend by getting some one-on-one chat time with such pirate luminaries as Skip Henderson, the reenactors of Tales of the Seven Seas, the crew of Pirates Magazine, pirate artist Richard Becker, and many other folks you’ve likely read about. It’s definitely worth the trek to attend, regardless of where you’re hailing from – just be sure to pack lots of sunscreen.

Much like the Department of Naval Intelligence, I’ve been aware of the Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries (B.O.O.M.) for some time – mainly in that yes, a crew called the B.O.O.M. Pirates exists, that they do most of said existing out in the Pacific Northwest, and that they boast some pretty classy pirate garb. But having not yet done any piratin’ myself in that region it was a great treat to finally get a copy of their CD to experience first hand what they’ve been up to from a musical perspective.

Prepare to be Boarded is the B.O.O.M.’s first album and features 15 tracks, ten of which are traditional, four covers, and one original to the Brotherhood. Most all the songs are performed in a traditionalish, festival manner, complete in many cases with brief opening scenarios. Haule Away Joe, for example, starts with the clear sounds of grumpy pirates hauling lines before the song itself kicks off. When it does, the lyrics of this traditional song come in crisp and strong, accompanied by a slow drumbeat and increasing backup vocals. It’s a fine, steady rendition of this classic – not quite as rough or salty as some renditions, but easily a joy to listen to.

The next several tracks: All for Me Grog, Drunken Sailor, Nelson’t Blood, and Down Among the Dead Men are also traditional, and largely continue in the precedent set by the opening song, with brief scenarios (often the sounds of a pirate pub) followed by clear vocals and a small variety of instruments ranging from guitars to fiddles, and with clear, powerful vocals. Drunken Sailor does stand out in that it features female lead vocals, which lends a bit more credibility to the song than usual (in that it’s easier to believe that women are actually being critical of the drunken sailor, as opposed to when men sing it and are probably at least as drunk as the drunken sailor in question.) Away Santianno also features female lead vocals, with the lyrics modified to suit – again a nice touch, as it always bothers me when I hear a woman’s voice singing – for example “When I was a little boy my mother often told me” – as happens from time to time.

Next up is Boom Shiver Me Timbers – a very fun, slightly haunting song very reminiscent of Mary Poppin’s Chim Chim Cherree. I originally thought this was a piratey version of that very song, although The B.O.O.M. educated me when they explained that it was indeed original, and that the, “inspiration came from many French waltzes and Gypsy tunes that inspired us (which Chim Chim Cherree is also based on.)”

Maid on the Shore is another decent traditional piece, while Scallywagg is a fine cover of the Captain Bogg & Salty classic. Deux Voyages takes a new approach as it’s largely sung in French. It comes in smoothly with guitars and a gypsy swagger beat, and the French vocals make for a nice change of pace (although I keep expecting to see pirate contortionists hovering on the ceiling, as the musical style and French vocals conjure memories of Cirque Du Soleil.)

Smooth is a stark departure from the traditional pace of this album, and a definite delight. The acoustic guitars and drums make incredible use of the stereo medium (especially with high quality speakers), and the fast paced vocals tell a piratey tale with a 90′s Alternative flair that may well be a pirate first. Mingulay Boat Song then returns us to the familiar waters of the traditional, while It’s Another Day has a nice inspirational tone about it. The album concludes with Shanty of the Bells, being a piratey version of Carol of the Bells. Generally I prefer original pirate Christmas songs rather than parodies, but you can’t deny the catchiness of “Yar yar yar yar, yar yar yar yar” (sorry – it doesn’t translate well into text. Buy the album and you can hear it proper.)

Prepare to be Boarded stands solid as a competent pirate shanty album. The opening scenarios get a little tedious after the first listen (I prefer to just get to the music), but the songs themselves are certainly first rate. If you’re looking for a first pirate-shanty album, this is certainly a fine place to start. Collectors might find B.O.O.M.’s versions of the “usual” songs (All For Me Grog, Drunken Sailor, so on…) to be a bit too standard-issue to stand apart from the hordes of other bands covering the same, but this is counter-balanced by many new (or at least lesser known) songs such as Boom Shiver Me Timbers, Scallywagg, Deux Voyages, Smooth, etc. The end product is an album that should be a fine addition for the new or seasoned pirate music enthusiast alike.