Alabama 3 gig

A great night was had Thursday night at the Tripod, with Alabama 3 providing a great show, with equally good, if short-lived support from The Republic of Loose. The night belonged to distinctive voices, with the lead singers of both bands lending immeasurably to the unique sounds of their bands with their range. We went knowing little of Alabama 3 and my standard response to ‘who are they?’ was ‘the guys who sing the Sopranos’ song’. Other than this, and I was in the company of people who know their music, we were largely unaware of even their overall style of music, let alone any other tracks.

Well it was positive responses all round, a trio of lead singers - one with the deep trench of a voice we associate with the Sopranos’ ‘Woke up this Morning’, a nymph of a woman who could drown out the a gospel choir and a guy who seemed to deliver a rap chant type performance reminding me of Vincent Price, performed every song with adrenaline rising enthusiasm. The most dominant influence on their music is country and blues. At times there were riffs and indeed whole songs that could have tipped the balance in favour of Cotton Eye Joe hokey poke, at others there were songs laden with blues. At one point there even seemed to be line dancing going on but all the time the rocky edges to the music and energy earned them a respected niche of their own.

There were some angry themes running through their music, but not for a moment did the energy of their music lull and the Tripod, a nicely intimate yet accommodating venue, carried the sound well, every bit of me vibrating for a track ‘Soldier’ which was the tune of the night. And in a summer where I’ve seen some big names these guys outright did the best encore. So too, the Republic of Loose, delivered a great show but playing for only half an hour I was left feeling short changed. Especially as I had not even realised they were the support until late in the day, nevertheless it was an unexpected surprise as a great fan of their music. The unnecessarily long break between the acts only dissipated the good vibes of the Kilkenny bands performances. Don't let there be any doubt it was a great night all around. I posted Dave Matthews Band clips earlier in the year but the reality is that Youtube can't do justice to such great live music, instead I've linked the official websites below.

Cheers to the bouncer who sold my spare ticket for me. Links: Official Albama 4 website Official Republic of Loose website