Sunday night at B90 didn’t creep in quietly. It kicked the door open and demanded attention from the first band onwards. This wasn’t one of those bills where you patiently wait for the headliner while scrolling your phone. From the start, it felt curated, paced & intentional.
The evening began with Roses Of Thieves, and it was immediately clear this was no disposable opening slot. They delivered a genuinely good gig, one that grabbed the room rather than politely warming it. The accordion was the unexpected hero of the set, injecting charm and personality into the music and giving the performance a flavour that stuck. It added colour without tipping into gimmickry, grounding the songs while making them stand out. The set was entertaining and electric, the crowd visibly waking up with every track. Halfway through, there was already that quiet realisation creeping in, this is going to be a good night. A very good start, and a promise that the evening had teeth.
That promise was reinforced when Lutharo hit the stage. They came in swinging and in full gear. Musically, it was a great concert, tight, heavy, and thoroughly enjoyable. The whole band was in constant motion, feeding off the crowd and pushing the energy forward. But it was the singer who dominated the visual field. She was everywhere, relentlessly active, almost hyper kinetic. At times, it became difficult to follow her, not in terms of vocals, but physically, as if the performance was always moving half a second faster than the eye could keep up with. Still, that intensity gave the set its urgency. It felt alive, raw, and committed. A very pleasant concert, one that demanded full attention and rewarded it.
By the time Alestorm took the stage, the room was already primed. Interestingly, the band themselves appeared less physically active than Lutharo, and some of the visceral, restless energy from the previous set faded slightly at first. But Alestorm operate on a different fuel. Their strength isn’t frantic movement, it’s connection. As soon as the music kicked in, the atmosphere shifted from adrenaline to celebration.
This is where Alestorm truly excel. The energy didn’t come from stage antics, it came from the songs and the crowd interaction. Their concerts have a well earned reputation across Europe for being collective experiences rather than traditional performances, and Gdańsk was no exception. Choruses were shouted back in unison, fists and beers were raised together, and the barrier between band and audience dissolved into a shared joke everyone was in on. It was loud, absurd, and joyously unpretentious.
Alestorm gigs are often described as parties disguised as metal shows, and that description holds up. The humour, the theatrical pirate identity, the relentless hooks, all of it turns the room into a single organism. Even when the band themselves weren’t the most physically animated presence on stage, the energy flowing back from the crowd was phenomenal. Laughter, chants, and mass singalongs filled every gap. It was impossible not to get pulled in. And let’s not forget the crowdsurfing!
By the end of the night, the arc made sense. Roses Of Thieves opened with charm and spark. Lutharo cranked the intensity and sweat. Alestorm closed by turning the entire venue into a floating tavern of metal euphoria. Different energies, different approaches, but together they built an evening that felt genuinely joyful.
