Plymouth Hippo 5th May 2010
As tonight is the night before the General Election, there is a loud buzz in the air leading up to tomorrow’s big event. Unfortunately, Alabama 3 are not known for their political observations, so their lyrics do not feel particularly relevant to the occasion. However, for those in need of some rock’n’roll-based political commentary prior to election night, A3 have brought along one-man band David Ford as tonight’s support act. With song titles like ‘Surfing Guantanamo Bay’ and another track that he describes as “a love song about Margaret Thatcher”, you can’t help but feel that his lyrics have a specific agenda to them. David’s live performance really has to be seen to be believed. He manages to play all the instruments himself (guitars, keyboard and percussion) by sampling each piece in turn and then looping everything until he has a heavily layered sound to sing over. And he does all of this live onstage, in front of your eyes, so it is impossible to accuse him of cheating in any way. His impressive style captivates the audience for the whole show, right up until its conclusion with David standing on a speaker and stamping on his keyboard for musical effect.
By the time Alabama 3 take to the stage, the small Plymouth venue is at capacity. Their music, a surprisingly compatible mix of rock, dance, country and gospel, is perfect for anyone hoping to take their mind off of the impending election. From the moment the nine-piece band start, with ‘Are You A Souljah?’ from their last album ‘MOR’, their songs don’t fail to get the crowd dancing. But in addition to the musical entertainment on offer, there is a certain amount of humour to their performance. The two lead vocalists are called Larry Love and Reverend D. Wayne Love, and the pair spend much of the set speaking to the audience in their pretend “Southern drawl”. However, with six musicians and three singers in the group, it’s obvious that this is more about the tunes than anything else. Larry Love and backing vocalist Aurora Dawn dance along with the crowd as the other members provide the soundtrack.
Alabama 3’s first album ‘Exile On Coldharbour Lane’, released way back in 1997, was named after the Rolling Stones LP ‘Exile On Main Street’. Their latest offering ‘Revolver Soul’ is surely a reference to the other well-known R’n’B act from the 1960s, the Beatles. This evening’s gig is in support of the new album and the second song on the setlist, ‘She Blessed Me’, is taken from it. It isn’t long, however, before the group launch into their most famous track, ‘Woke Up This Morning’, otherwise known as the theme song from The Sopranos, which receives the biggest cheer of the night.
Surprisingly, Alabama 3 have been doing this for thirteen years. During this time, their music has failed to follow the specifications of any fads that have been and gone since the end of the Nineties. Instead, they have continued to stick to their own winning formula. Looking at the response from tonight’s crowd as well as the reception of the new album from both critics and fans, it seems likely that people are happy for them to keep on doing this for a few more years yet.