Crowd goes wild for Alabama Shakes

We love introducing you to your next favorite band. And we’re pretty sure Alabama Shakes is going to become that for you once you see their smoking hot soul.

While we had a few guests in the audience last night from out of town thanks to SXSW, it was a primarily Austin crowd – many getting to experience the Shakes for the first time.

The evening started off with “Going to the Party,” which flowed directly into “Hold On.” The power of “Hold On” was hard for the audience to resist,  as evidenced by Brittany Howard’s broken guitar string. “I think I was playing it too hard” she said as she switched to another guitar for “Hang Loose.”

The band continued with “I Found You” and “Always Alright,” which led  SoundcheckMag  to write, “You know a band is truly great when you feel like you’ve heard every song one thousand times before.”

Howard spent time introducing “Boys & Girls” to explain it was about a time in her childhood when she was told she could no longer be friends with a boy because they were too old. This touching song brought the energy in the room to a whole new level and sparked an amazing rendition of “Be Mine,” which will have people talking for years to come. ATXSocial said “Damn, Alabama Shakes just rocked it!”

They followed with “Rise to the Sun,” “You Ain’t Alone” and “I Ain’t the Same,” each one building off the last for a soulful storm of emotion. Once the crowd was in a frenzy, Alabama Shakes slipped into “Making Me Itch,” adding a little sexual tension to the set. They carried that over into the next song – just before “Heavy Chevy,” Howard demanded, “I want to see some shakers and some movers!”  And our ACL audience delivered.

The band returned to the stage for an encore, including “On Your Way.” And in just about an hour, the Alabama Shakes had won hundreds of new fans.

‏ @MatthewLillard “Watching the birth of a legend right now. @Alabama_Shakes. Buy stock early. A legend is born in Austin. No shit. Divine genius.”