In May
Alabama Shakes provided me with one of the best gigs that I have ever
attended.
A show
that pretty much set the benchmark for live shows in 2012.
Now here
we are as the year eases ever closer to ending and the band are back
in Glasgow, only this time they have nothing to prove.
Between
then and now they have taken over the world, and virtually everyone
has fallen in love with them.
Anyone
who has been following their ascendency is well aware that they have
been leaving a trail of ecstatic reviews in their wake as they have
move from one country to the next, and the chances of a stumble now
will not be on the cards.
However
prior to them taking to the stage of the legendary Barrowlands
Ballroom we were to be entertained by Dylan LeBlanc, a singer
songwriter who similar to Alabama Shakes, The Secret Sisters and a
whole fistful of other talented musicians, comes to us from Muscle
Shoals, Alabama.
Sadly his
performance fell far short of emulating the successes of those who
have preceded him to these shores.
Dogged by
a shockingly poor sound he was lost to the majority of the audience.
The
reverb on his vocals made it virtually impossible to make out a
single word that he enunciated, and it looked like Melvin Duffy
couldn't hear anything from the monitors and was trying to play along
by watching what Dylan was doing.
Even Ben
Tanners (Alabama Shakes) guesting on keyboards was pretty much a
redundant exercise as virtually nothing could be heard of him.
I don't
recall the last time I have seen a support battle on through such a
horrible sound.
Hints of
just how good Dylan LeBlanc actually is were on show during his
heartfelt rendition of the Rev Al Green's 'Let's stay together', but
I suspect for many it was too little too late.
I happily
went and bought his latest CD, but I will have to wait until he
returns to hopefully see him perform a set that will show him in the
best possible light.
I could
say that it was hugely disappointing, but my disappointment wasn't
rooted in the performance, but rather the issues that surrounded it.
I
sincerely hope that others in the audience were picking up on that
instead of writing Dylan off.
A great
shame really.
The sound
issues failed to make the leap from the end of Dylan's performance to
the beginning of Alabama Shakes though.
Once
Brittany and her boys came on it was all systems go.
Or was
it?
For me
the rawness of the show earlier in the year was gone, and was
replaced with a slicker, and probably more assured performance.
It's as
if the band have become more comfortable with the world they exist in after initially being thrown in at the deep end, and that comfort
has served to eat away slightly at the passion.
Then when
you add on the repetitious nature of being on the road for so long
the result seems to be that all the gloriously organic and explosive
delivery of the songs has been tamed to an extent.
Not a
lot, but just enough for the show to feel quite different from what I
had expected.
Brittany
still sounds stunning of course, and the band are exceptionally
tight, but even the new songs - which bode well for the next album -
sound pretty polished.
Maybe too
polished.
It's
strange to say, but while I really enjoyed myself at the time all I
have done is pick at it in the cold light of day.
I'm not
sure if it is the familiarity with the material that has had a bit of
an impact on my enjoyment, or that having experienced the King Tuts
show this outing suffered in comparison, but it would be fair to say
that the buzz I felt earlier in the year that lasted for days was
already fading as I was leaving the venue.
Then
again it is possible that it was the size of the venue that took some
of the enjoyment away, and what the band deal in is best allowed to
push at the walls of smaller clubs.
If that
is the case then there's not a lot that the band can do about it.
Possibly
I'm just feeling that they are victims of their own success.
A great
gig in reality, but one that had just too much to live up to.
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