Alabama Shakes @ HMV Institute, Birmingham – 11th May 2012
Were one not to know better (although, the premise contradicts the very reason for being part of the immensely good natured punter packed Institute crowd whose age demographic comfortably ranged either side of sixteen to sixty) from the back, one could be forgiven thinking that guitar/voxette Brittany Howard, in her printed cotton dress, shaggy locks and assistant librarian £Saver glasses presents the very antithesis of a rhythm & blues Soul diva. What had all the fuss been about? It needs but for her to sing and we’re mutually intoxicated by her husky licorice larynx gargling on much loved vintage wines decanted from the vaults of Motown, Muscle Shoals, Sun Studio and Stax.
To no-one’s amazement but theirs, the debut album ‘Boys And Girls’ has garnered all sorts of amazed praise and high profile airtime. And rightly so. Having told the NME ‘sincerity’ more than ‘originality’ is their forte, such honesty is the manifest USP of tonight’s embracing, collective celebration. One was minded of Janis Joplin staring in to the void of her last Jack Daniels’ swig of howling venerability, or perhaps Macey Gray and, in the corner of your ear, perhaps shades of Kings Of Leon?
The band were tighter than a whale in a condom with economic guitars enough to make Chet Atkins proud and, where a horn section might’ve seem obligatory, the uplifting twirls and swirls of ‘Stylophone Jones’ ‘ keyboards more than did the business.
Opening song ‘Hold On’ train-track rattled on its lonesome Soul/Spiritual journey, whilst ‘I Found You’ bared its slow-beat plaintive Gospel heart. Echoes of Ry Cooder’s cover of Sidney Bailey’s ‘The Very Thing That Makes Her Rich/Will Make You Poor’ lent a subtle piquancy alongside suggestive nuances of ‘…Natural Woman’ and Lorraine Ellison’s definitive rendition of ‘Stay With Me Baby’.
Later songs sparkled with all sorts of refreshing Billy/Boogie grooves and hound-dog howling Blues and before we knew it an hour had passed. Encores were appreciated with gracious self-effacement, ‘WE came to see YOU tonight guys, and Birmingham! What a pleasure it has been.’ Foot-thundering balcony mayhem and mosh-pit applause more than reciprocated that sentiment. Post-gig, in the foyer, merchandise T-shirts bore the logo of a rattlesnake with ‘Alabama Shakes’ writ beneath it. One wonders whether the suppliers had a moment of typo horror confusion?
Stage Setlist: Party, Hold On, Hang Loose, Always Alright, I Found You, Rise, Boys & Girls, Be Mine, I Ain’t The Same, Worryin Blues, You Ain’t Alone, Mama, Making Me Itch, Heavy Chevy/ Squidbillies Tune, On Your Way, Heat Lightning. (Thanks to the sound-mix man & Carlo).
Review – John Kennedy
Photos – Ian Dunn