Alabama Shakes >> hit up the Arizona State Fair this past Thursday for a powerful premier performance in the desert. The 1.5 hour headliner-only set in the ancient ruins of Phoenix was powerful behind frontwoman Brittany Howard's driving vocals and mean southern strumming.
The Shakes have such a great sound that I am not incredibly versed in but I absolutely adore what they bring. Ms. Howard and her Forrest Gump-ish band certainly have a unique chemistry. They appear not to know or even like each other but they were fine-tuned and sounded great throughout the show which included tons of jam-heavy offerings and erratic vocals. Brittany has so much range in those chords and can belt it to the max with so much conviction.
I'm really looking forward to encore performance this weekend at the Life Is Beautiful festival in downtown Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see what energy they bring to a massively larger crowd and how it is reciprocated. Vegas, baby. Vegas.