Review: Legendary band Alabama 3 tells Bristol crowd to ‘calm down’ during energetic set
Alabama 3 frontman Larry Love jokingly told Bristol to “calm the f*** down” as the crowd went wild for the group. “This is blues music.”
But anyone familiar with the legendary band will know their music is far more varied than that, with their style more akin to “acid country house’”
The band literally dazzled in shiny suits as they took to the O2 Academy stage on Friday night (December 12) for their high-energy show.
They got the song they’re perhaps most known for, Woke Up This Morning - famous as the theme for the iconic HBO series The Sopranos - out of the way early.
“Now things are going to get weird,” Larry joked again, as the band played through the rest of their setlist.
The whole show was a wake-up call, with amazing harmonica and guitar solos, alongside the vocals of Larry and female singer Zoe Devlin Love, as the band delivered hit after hit.
The staging was also spectacular, with strobe lighting creating a party atmosphere, and revolutionary former member Jake Black, AKA the Very Reverend D. Wayne Love, who passed away in 2019, represented as Jesus.
Frontman Larry noted how the audience had as many as four generations of fans, and despite their music spanning ages, the show provided a modern take on performance.
The Reverend was brought back to life in the form of AI - a big screen showed him seemingly singing along - which was surprisingly well done.
One of the band’s newer songs, Sex Machine Learning, also reproduces the Reverend’s deep southern drawl using AI - it’s amazing but somewhat scary what AI can do today.
The highlight of the show came with the song Hypo Full Of Love, which saw the crowd completely let loose and just enjoy the incredible music.
Alabama 3’s music and performances are brilliantly unique, and combined with the charisma and comedy of the members, make them extremely exciting to watch.