“I’m not a real big talker, that’s not my forte,” Alabama Shakes lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard said toward the beginning of the Overture show Tuesday night. “I end up saying something stupid.”
If Howard prefers singing to speaking, I don’t think there would have been a single person of the more than 2,000 audience members in attendance that would ask for anything different.
Howard, along with her six fellow band members and three backup singers, held back little in terms of emotion in the nearly two-hour show, playing a mixture of classic songs and new, not-yet-released tracks.
The band could have easily came up short in terms of performance, seeing as it has not produced a new album since their Boys & Girls debut, which was released in 2012.
Alabama Shakes is on tour now, promoting their new, long-awaited album, set to be released April 21.
With any sophomore album of a highly regarded band, there is always apprehension from fans it will not live up to the magic of what came at the beginning. For Alabama Shakes, the hiatus treated them well.
It didn't take long for listeners to get swept away with the new tracks, which is indicative of the ease that comes with a Shakes song.
While the grandiose venue could have been a source of disconnect between the band and the audience, Howard’s presence made it seem as though the concert was located in a small local bar.
Attendees throughout the hall were locked into what the music emoted, all seemingly experiencing their own personal connection to the performers on stage.
The lyricism behind each song only furthered the connection—songs both old and new alike oozed of Howard’s own confidence and lack thereof. I got lost in the monotonous chaos that is “Don’t Want to Fight,” and felt as though maybe I did have someone on my side with “You Ain’t Alone.”
If soul music has been dubbed a thing of the past, Alabama Shakes have brought it back: everything about Howard exuded passion and heart.
Arguably the most powerful moment of the night was when Howard set down the guitar, pushed away the mic stand and crooned a soulful, bare-bones, “Gospel Song.”
The song has not been released as part of any album or EP (at least not anywhere my online research led to), and maybe Alabama Shakes knows what they're doing—after getting to hear the song live and to see Howard on stage pleading to the song’s protagonist, it’d just seem wrong to hear it anyway else.
The vulnerability Howard presents is unmatched.
With each song, there was a moment of uncertainty to if she would just break down on stage, the music being too emotional.
“Be Mine” ignited the audience, after a collective journey into the pleading and reasoning of Howard throughout the song’s build up.
Rare are artists today who possess raw emotion; too often we see those who can play around with auto-tune and read off the lyrics their songwriter wrote. With Alabama Shakes, there is no doubt that the music they’re producing is 100 percent authentic and straight from the heart. There is no hiding behind production—they’re raw and real.
At the end of it all, after gaining access into the talented minds of this uniquely talented band, it was who Howard thanked all of us for being there.
“I appreciate you all so much for stopping what you had to do tonight to come out.”
The band assured the audience they will be making another trip to Madison in the future.
My words of advice: if you like music at all, be in attendance.
