Wellington Sea Shanty Society
20th January 2021
Waimārama Community Hall, Waimārama, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
Round two of 2022’s run of Small Hall Sessions sees the Wellington Sea Shanty Society bring their rambunctious brand of maritime melodies to the coastal communities of Te Matau-a-Māui. With an Ahoy! worthy of the scurviest of sea dogs, these scallywags spliced the mainbrace in fine fashion in Waimārama last night, and will be doing so a few more times in this brief run.
This is a combo who bring new life to the ancient tradition of the sea shanty, while injecting a healthy dose of modernity to make an intoxicating cocktail that inspires passionate sing-alongs and wild dancing (if you’re that way inclined!).
An audience made up of a mix of the immediately local and some who had travelled from as far away as the storied climes of Napier were treated to a lively set. The first half of the performance got the audience hooked on the unique mix of traditional shanty, from a range of sources across the globe, and recasting of more modern ditties, such as Admiral Dobbyn’s “Whaling” and a refashioning of a song from the (Roger) Waters, in the form of “Another Ship in The Storm”(We don’t need no navigation”!), and similar surprises. The invitation to hit the dancefloor, calling to mind an early David Byrne’s reminder to audiences (“Once again, you can dance if you want to”) was politely declined in this part of proceedings, the crowd opting instead for lively accompaniment with the aid of the provided songbook. Yes, you read that right – a book of lyrics was handed out upon entry, to facilitate singing along – a definite first (and not one likely to be repeated) for the Sessions! I said it was unique…
The second half saw an uptick in both volume and tempo, inspiring many present to cut a rug, first in a trickle and then a torrent, as the lubricating effects of the refreshments coupled with the energetic and (dare I use the word in these times?) infectious playing coupled to loosen limbs, raising the temperature of the room and causing the night to fly by.
All too soon it was time for a finale, and this saw not just audience participation, as mentioned earlier, but audience penetration (shock emoji!), as the players went fully unplugged and made their way in to the crowd for a rousing rendition of the classic “What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?”, sending the assembled revellers off to their berths with a song in their hearts and the sailor’s spirit in their souls.
I could reel off a setlist but I didn’t get one, and in any case it’d add little – the bottom line is that if you want a rollicking, shit-kicking good time, while possibly having your expectations confounded (in the best of ways), get yourself along! With two of the remaining three sessions having sold out, there’s only one opportunity to do so, tonight at Bay View’s St George’s Hall, so avast toot sweet and head to smallhallsessions.co.nz to secure your place in the crew.
Were you there at the Waimārama Community Hall for this rollicking good time? Or have you seen the Wellington Sea Shanty Society perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: The Small Hall Sessions provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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