Alabama Shakes Deliver Blues-Rock Bliss at Rousing New York Reunion Show
Over the past few months, the live music industry has been dominated by the story of two British brothers laying down their arms to bring songs like “Wonderwall” back around the globe. Indeed, I joined 80,000 others in singing “maaaybaaayyy” at Oasis’ triumphant concert at MetLife Stadium. But there was another, less-publicized reunion tour I also couldn’t wait to attend: the return of Alabama Shakes.
After disbanding in 2018, the Brittany Howard-led blues rock band announced a fall tour in January, promising new music. Strangely, there’s been no announcement of an album since then — only the arrival of their first single in 10 years, “Another Life.” Clearly, the Shakes didn’t need the allure of a new record to draw 13,000 people to Forest Hills Stadium on Wednesday for their first show in New York in more than eight years.
The Queens crowd cheered loudly to the opening guitar notes of “Hang Loose,” a surf rock-inspired throwback jam, as Howard commanded the stage, clad in a billowing white cloak. She had some pitch issues early on in the show, on “I Ain’t the Same” and “Future People,” but after a few songs the band locked in, turning the low-key “Guess Who” into a vocal showcase for Howard and three backup singers. It was the first of many songs to be interrupted by an applause break, leaving Howard somewhat speechless.
“What I’m trying to say is… wow. Thank you for that,” said the singer, who spent her post-Shakes years building a successful solo career. Looking out at a tennis stadium packed with fans buzzing with pent-up enthusiasm for the reunited band, Howard recalled her early days delivering mail as a USPS driver before the band took off. “The fact that it turned into all this is amazing, to say the least. I always say miraculous.”
The audience at Forest Hills skewed older, with most people sitting down for the majority of the concert. But that didn’t mean the crowd wasn’t lively. In fact, the opposite was true. People hooted and hollered from their chairs, shouting out church-like sounds of approval like “Yes!” and “Mmm!” in the middle of songs. Thousands stomped in the bleachers, creating rumbling waves of adoration. During the encore, Howard said, “This might be my favorite show we’ve played.”
The reunion itself was not a central focus of the show, in which the band ran through a handful of songs from their 2012 debut album “Boys & Girls” and nearly every track off their 2015 follow-up, “Sound & Color.” Original band members Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell did not speak, and they spent much of the show standing behind Howard, out of the spotlight. (Drummer Steve Johnson, who was arrested in 2021 on child abuse charges that were later dismissed, was left out of the reunion.) Nor was there any real mention of the music apparently coming soon, but the band did perform two new songs: the single “Another Life” and yet-to-be-released “American Dream.” (The new tracks feel a bit shapeless, like reheated “Sound & Color” tracks without clear hooks. But the larger context of these songs remains to be seen.)
With “This Feeling,” the band flaunted their capacity for simple brilliance, and, with “Dunes,” their ability to funnel off-kilter melodies into a thunderous prog-rock spiral. During the fuzz-drenched guitar solo of “Gemini,” Howard was bathed in purple light, reminiscent of one of her music heroes, Prince. “Miss You” was a clear highlight of the show, as the singer revealed the wacky true story behind the love song and a woman in the crowd crying tears of joy scream-sang the opening line, “I’m gonna miss you / And your Mickey Mouse tattoo” — one of Howard’s finest and funniest lyrical observations.
The rolling blues-rock plea of “Hold On” and cathartic closer “Always Alright” were examples of the Shakes’ timelessness, and had the whole stadium singing along. But the best song of the night was one it would be foolish to join in on. “Gimme All Your Love,” with its shouting bursts of longing and dueling guitar bliss, was simply transcendent — a reminder of Howard’s singular talent. After the second chorus, an extended standing ovation brought the song to a halt before its explosive bridge.
“That was short,” said the friend I brought to the show, after I told him this was my favorite Shakes song. I smiled: “It’s not over yet.”
After disbanding in 2018, the Brittany Howard-led blues rock band announced a fall tour in January, promising new music. Strangely, there’s been no announcement of an album since then — only the arrival of their first single in 10 years, “Another Life.” Clearly, the Shakes didn’t need the allure of a new record to draw 13,000 people to Forest Hills Stadium on Wednesday for their first show in New York in more than eight years.
The Queens crowd cheered loudly to the opening guitar notes of “Hang Loose,” a surf rock-inspired throwback jam, as Howard commanded the stage, clad in a billowing white cloak. She had some pitch issues early on in the show, on “I Ain’t the Same” and “Future People,” but after a few songs the band locked in, turning the low-key “Guess Who” into a vocal showcase for Howard and three backup singers. It was the first of many songs to be interrupted by an applause break, leaving Howard somewhat speechless.
“What I’m trying to say is… wow. Thank you for that,” said the singer, who spent her post-Shakes years building a successful solo career. Looking out at a tennis stadium packed with fans buzzing with pent-up enthusiasm for the reunited band, Howard recalled her early days delivering mail as a USPS driver before the band took off. “The fact that it turned into all this is amazing, to say the least. I always say miraculous.”
The audience at Forest Hills skewed older, with most people sitting down for the majority of the concert. But that didn’t mean the crowd wasn’t lively. In fact, the opposite was true. People hooted and hollered from their chairs, shouting out church-like sounds of approval like “Yes!” and “Mmm!” in the middle of songs. Thousands stomped in the bleachers, creating rumbling waves of adoration. During the encore, Howard said, “This might be my favorite show we’ve played.”
The reunion itself was not a central focus of the show, in which the band ran through a handful of songs from their 2012 debut album “Boys & Girls” and nearly every track off their 2015 follow-up, “Sound & Color.” Original band members Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell did not speak, and they spent much of the show standing behind Howard, out of the spotlight. (Drummer Steve Johnson, who was arrested in 2021 on child abuse charges that were later dismissed, was left out of the reunion.) Nor was there any real mention of the music apparently coming soon, but the band did perform two new songs: the single “Another Life” and yet-to-be-released “American Dream.” (The new tracks feel a bit shapeless, like reheated “Sound & Color” tracks without clear hooks. But the larger context of these songs remains to be seen.)
With “This Feeling,” the band flaunted their capacity for simple brilliance, and, with “Dunes,” their ability to funnel off-kilter melodies into a thunderous prog-rock spiral. During the fuzz-drenched guitar solo of “Gemini,” Howard was bathed in purple light, reminiscent of one of her music heroes, Prince. “Miss You” was a clear highlight of the show, as the singer revealed the wacky true story behind the love song and a woman in the crowd crying tears of joy scream-sang the opening line, “I’m gonna miss you / And your Mickey Mouse tattoo” — one of Howard’s finest and funniest lyrical observations.
The rolling blues-rock plea of “Hold On” and cathartic closer “Always Alright” were examples of the Shakes’ timelessness, and had the whole stadium singing along. But the best song of the night was one it would be foolish to join in on. “Gimme All Your Love,” with its shouting bursts of longing and dueling guitar bliss, was simply transcendent — a reminder of Howard’s singular talent. After the second chorus, an extended standing ovation brought the song to a halt before its explosive bridge.
“That was short,” said the friend I brought to the show, after I told him this was my favorite Shakes song. I smiled: “It’s not over yet.”