Feel like getting your ass kicked? Alabama Shakes at One-Eyed Jack's in New Orleans...

(nola.livemusicblog.com) - The early portion of the set was highlighted by moments of pure and syrupy band syncopation (see “On Your Way“) that would be contrasted by a raw and uproarious latter half to the show. The band kept things straight-laced on the first leg, working within the confines of a few familiar blues and gospel arrangements rooted in the soil of the Southland – moaningly slow at times and fiery trudging and room-filling when the tempo picks up. These more familiar sounds were highlighted on the band’s insta-famous EP and were later traded for some interesting hybrid compositions – including a couple Dick Dale-meets-Carl Perkins surf-a-billy tunes that stood out from the whole set. The brief set blew by in a blink, but not before silver-tongued lead singer Brittany Howard took full command of the room, stomping around the stage and gaining the house’s full and utmost attention, while asking with a beggar’s emphasis: “I hope you really love me/And I hope you like me too”.

It’s hard to conceive of a more impassioned and rawer talent out there than Howard, and at this point in her career, she is still brimming over with newfangled enthusiasm to the recent onslaught of support the band is experiencing. The well-deserved comparisons to Janis Joplin are unavoidable and neither an insult to Joplin nor a statement on any lack of originality for Howard. The bespectacled Shakes’ front woman finessed her way down the dark end of the street on “You Ain’t Alone” with a bell-clear high scream before bellowing out the signature throaty rasps made famous by the legendary dynamo Joplin on “Hold On”. Read More