Apr 23

Apr 23 Review: Alabama Shakes at the Harrahs Cherokee Center Asheville

Almost exactly 10 years after their last visit to Asheville — and after a six-year hiatus as a band — Alabama Shakes returned to Asheville on April 17 for the second date on their current national tour. They were warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd in the ExploreAsheville.com Arena and played a tight, energetic set of just over 90 minutes.

The band did not disappoint. Numbering some 20 tunes, their show was a fairly comprehensive review of their catalog to this point, including most of the tracks from their best-selling, multi-Grammy-nominated second album, Sound & Color (2015), as well as a good sampling from their 2012 debut LP, Boys & Girls, plus some new songs. Most were renditions adhering closely to the recordings, but now and again singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist Brittany Howard powered forward with a ripping guitar solo.

Downstage, right to left, guitarist Heath Fogg, singer-guitarist Brittany Howard, and bassist Zac Cockrell, the trio who are the band Alabama Shakes.

While the set list did not include any of Howard’s solo work, this tour is still fundamentally the Brittany Howard Show. Wearing a shimmering silvery-blue gown of flowing fringe (shag? yeti fur?) that’s part muumuu and part cape, Howard holds the center of the stage — and the audience’s attention. Her two official bandmates, guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell, are relegated to their respective corners several feet behind and to either side of Howard. (The band’s original drummer, Steve Johnson, did not return from the hiatus, after a raft of legal troubles.) A U-shaped platform borders the trio’s central stage area on three sides, and the remaining performers are arranged there: three background singers (Shanay Johnson, Karita Law, and Lloyd Buchanan), a drummer (Noah Bond), and two keys players (Ben Tanner and Paul Horton). Johnson and Law briefly joined Howard downstage for one song; otherwise, the touring musicians stuck to their separate, upstairs space.

Howard was a joy to watch, as performing clearly takes her to another realm, one she seems to witness from her favorite attitude: head back, eyes closed, guitar at the fore. The rest of the band — and I include the first-level bandmates, as well as the touring crew — was there chiefly to support her. They might have earned an occasional and brief moment in the spotlight, but they mostly kept their heads down and did their thing.

While it was a special pleasure to see Howard and company perform the band’s fine, distinctive songs live and in person — “Hold On” and “Don’t Wanna Fight” in particular jazzed up the crowd, and the catchy, upbeat “Always Alright” (from the soundtrack to Silver Linings Playbook) was the fitting finale — the show was lacking the spontaneity we hope to get from a rock concert, offering few new riffs and no extended variations or surprising arrangements of old favorites. After a long hiatus, at the beginning of a tour, and with a raft of new players, maybe that’s understandable. When we’ve been served up a powerful set of great songs, passionately delivered, perhaps it’s ungrateful for us to wish for a little something more.

Audience members who were seated at the announced showtime of 7:30 did get something more, in the form of opening act Joy Oladokun, with her three talented bandmates. Describing herself as an introvert who listened to too much Pink Floyd growing up, Oladokun was a revelation, taking elements of classic rock, folk, soul, and more and blending them into her own unique and deeply personal sound. Oladokun was still on a personal high from the news that her song “Sweet Symphony” (recorded with country star Chris Stapleton) had recently been certified gold. Oladokun is definitely an artist to keep an ear on, and kudos to Alabama Shakes for introducing her to us.

Photos courtesy of Steve Atkins Photography.