ALABAMA SHAKES
Masquerade Music Park
Atlanta, GA
September 29, 2012

Source: AUD > CoreSound Binaurals > MM-EBM-1 battery box (no bass roll-off) > Line In > iRiver H320 (Rockboxed) > AIFF > Sound Studio > AIFF > Max > FLAC > XAct > FLAC > Max (for tags) > FLAC
Recorded and mastered by neil d
Light dynamic compression and EQ adjustment in Sound Studio

01 Hang Loose
02 Hold On
03 Always Alright
04 Rise to the Sun
05 Be Mine
06 Worryin' Blues
07 Hurricane Strut
08 Mama
09 Making Me Itch
10 I Ain't the Same
11 Heavy Chevy
12 encore break
13 I Still Ain't Got What I Want
14 On Your Way

The Masquerade Music Park is an exceedingly weird space: an open field with a stage in one corner, out back of the Masquerade club, in an old industrial building on the edge of a rapidly redeveloping downtown Atlanta neighborhood. On this night, it was packed for an appearance by the band of the moment from the next state over.

In short: The sound was great, the performance was great, the crowd was the kind that waited to hear the one hit they knew ("Hold On," which was the second song), sang along, then ignored the stage and talked amongst themselves. It actually isn't too bad on my recording, but suffice to say it was much more annoying in person - possibly because the clouds of cigarette smoke didn't make it onto the recording.

But anyway, the Shakes were marvelous, with Brittany Howard alternately belting out gut-wrenching vocals and delivering some impressive blues licks. For unexplained reasons (curfew? band illness?), the show was short even by the standards of a band with only one album - about 50 minutes - but it was a rocking 50 minutes, anyway.

If you want to make it even shorter, and skip listening to a bunch of drunk Atlantans singing the Braves "chop" song, feel free to cut out Track 12. But it certainly conveys the live experience...

Do not sell, etc., and buy all of Alabama Shakes', um, record. Looking forward to seeing them again in New York City, where the crowds can be just as self-centered but at least aren't allowed to smoke.