Review by: Diarmuid Sheehan
I had the pleasure of the company of the Alabama Three in Crawdaddy on Wednesday night. Promoting their new album Soul Revolver this was the first of two consecutive Dublin shows. The Alabama three usually perform with up to 7 band members, but for this acoustic set they striped down to a tight four piece which consisted of front man and lead vocals Larry Love, the excellent Rock Freebase on guitar, Harpo Strangelove on the harmonica and a true soul diva in Aurora Dawn on backing vocals.
To warm up the excited and almost impatient crowd were local blues and soul group Ali and the DT’s. A set of four excellent original songs delighted the half full room and really set the tone for a great night. I was extremely impressed by the energy and soul of all four band members. The singer Ali De Mora in particular was excellent, a voice not dissimilar to an early Caleb Followill. The only unfortunate note was guitarist Gerry Power broke a string early in their set and didn’t have a replacement…..a mistake I am sure he will not repeat. But all in all, a great set from the obviously talented Ali and the DT’s. If you get a chance to see them, do not hesitate!
The main attraction took to the stage to rapture of a applause from the loyal crowd, many of which I will imagine will make the trip to Leopardstown on Thursday to catch their next gig. Larry Love took the stage and proclaimed to the cavernous venue that tonight we were going to raise the dead before kicking into “Too Sick To Pray”. Throughout Larry played the classical front man role which is unusual for an acoustic set, riling up the crowd with snippets of his own thoughts on a broad range of subjects that included economics and drugs. Larry also insisted on introducing Rock Freebase’s guitar solos with a chorus of “Crawdaddy we got no drums and no base just Larry and Freebase” After delighting the crowd to a gritty acoustic rendition of “Woke Up This Morning”, Larry decided to eloquently declared that anybody in the room who was under twenty three was a direct result of an “Acid House F*ck”, which got a great cheer from all present! Running through further tunes such as “Lord Have Mercy”, and “You Don’t Dance to Techno” the latter being absolutely belted out by the thronging audience the gig came to an end.
Before the gig I had a chance to listen to a few Alabama Three tracks and read up about their history, but by no means was I a big fan. But being a big fan is not what the Alabama three are about. They enjoy entertaining. Whether you’re a life long fan or if you just came along with a mate who had a spare ticket, they won’t discriminate, they just want you to have fun, a refreshing concept. Their website proclaims “dress up real sexy and come party with us sometime, we’ll look after you”. While not dressed too sexily in all honestly, as it was only a Wednesday night, they really did look after their audience and nobody left unfulfilled.