The Bilge Pumps - Past Landings: Tall Ships Galveston 2018

Galveston, TX April 6 - 8, 2018

The Bilge Pumps once again trekked south to Galveston, but instead of Christmas decorations or beads we saw... sails! Lots and lots of sails! The Tallships Challenge made an appearance in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in 30+ years and Galveston was its first stop. Though the weather was cold and windy and misty for much of the festival, it was still better weather than most of the surrounding country and we made the best of it. We also enjoyed hanging with Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers, even going so far as to do a few songs with them on Sunday. We capped off the weekend by performing at the Salute to Sunset with a couple of sets bracketing a fireworks display in the harbor that was a sight to behold from the decks of the Elissa.

The Friday kick-off of the three day festival has the Bilge Pumps with a 5-man crew, trying to keep the bilge water from sinking us all.	In the absence of Sharkbait, Slice the Rigger gets to be the grumpy, dancy pirate during the "Gun Shanty".	Tom Mason and Maroon the Shantyman get together for the first time... and pirate music was changed forever... sideways...
The Stilt Lady classes up the joint in her pirate form, keeping the lines entertained.	The Bilge Pumps go all parrotheaded as they attempt to become Coral Reefers. They might have succeeded on the last word.	Harvey, John, and Splice, standing on a stage. Two are goofy and one acts his age.
The tall ship Oliver Hazard Perry makes for a nice side/backdrop for the show.	Billy and Rippy prepare to act out all the gory details of extreme child neglect.	Fanny the Flagmaker has our new full sized flags ready to sell or use as an emergency blanket.
Sharkbait Simon the Scapegoat joins the band on Saturday, and the full crew of Bilge Pumps is restored.	Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers take advantage of the rain with a show under the tent... complete with "volunteer" pirate backing vocalists.	The band's second show has them in the Strand, right in the windiest wind tunnel possible outside of the Caribbean.
Splice does unspeakable things to Maroon's didjeridu while Sharkbait just tries to keep a rhythm.	It might have been windy, but guitar straps and iron grips kept all the stringed instruments on stage and playing.	John Crow the Cook seems to really want to get his hands on the ship's crabs, aka Jack the Rum Runner.
John Crow and Harvey the Corpsman decide to compare bananas. It's just something you do on a ship.	Splice manages to find a way to keep John Crow focused on the task at hand.	We're not really sure where these came from, but we're pretty sure one of the crew will be wearing them later.
Maroon and Jack take some time between shows to experiment busking dockside to the bewilderment of the pelicans nearby.	Back on the Strand in front of Yaga's, the band moves in front of the mics while they're being set up to kick off the show.	Ah, that's better. Now the band is louder and more obnoxious and able to pull in... at least 2 more people to the show.
I put a spell on you.... oooooaaaaaaahhhhhh....	To shake things up for their last show on the mainstage, the band drags Tom Mason and the Blue Buccaneers on stage with them for a few songs.	The band kicks off the last show of the festival at the final Salute to Sunset.
The Oosterschelde and the Elissa make it look like we're on a movie set.	In between sets, fireworks were fired off from the bay, framed nicely by the top gear	Once the fireworks were done, the Bilge Pumps took to the stage one final time to send off the weekend with a full broadside.