Alabama Shakes, Methodist Central Hall Manchester, 10th May 2012 10/10

The excitement last night was palpable: Alabama Shakes' first show in Manchester had long since sold out, despite a move to a larger venue. The five piece from Athens, Alabama has enjoyed a meteoric rise, emerging from a high school friendship between lead singer Brittany Howard and bassist Zac Cockrall. The trigger for their explosion into the indie music world was a post on the Aquarium Drunkard music blog, containing a stream of the song You Ain't Alone. Their first EP was only released last September, and the début television appearance (on Conan in February) came before this April's album release. They generated a huge buzz from their SXSW shows and gained endorsements from Adele and Jack White. Boy and Girls was the top selling Record Day purchase in the UK this year.

Before experiencing their show, I found it difficult to reconcile this immense popular and critical success with their apparent lack of commercial awareness. It seemed naive in this post Lana Del Rey world to hope that their rise could be attributed to exceptional musical ability; Adele looked like the exception. The knowledge that Brittany studied psychology added to the concern that perhaps we were being manipulated: surely they had to be too good to be true? Boys and Girls had been one of my top five albums in my monthly summary, yet for all its merit, the album is a pale impression of their show. Little can prepare you for the shock of seeing Alabama Shakes live.

There were no gimmicks: no electronics, hip hop beats, or elaborate visual effects. A slightly shambolic air was heightened by The Shakes' need to borrow a working bass guitar amp from the support band, delaying their arrival on stage. The lighting was dim and unimaginative, and the vocal sound at the front was poor. I'd expected to write about Brittany's throaty voice, which dominates the album, but for the first two songs it was almost inaudible; the situation then improved but she remained too far back in the mix. Three times between songs people from the crowd shouted 'more vocals'. Brittany eventually responded by promising to sing louder, but we were hoping for a response from the sound engineer. For almost any other band this would have ruined the experience, yet they are so magical that it still managed to be my most mesmerising gig to date in 2012.

Put simply, Alabama Shakes has soul. Brittany has wild hair, nerdy spectacle, a natural rather than supermodel figure, and an incredibly expressive face. The energy as she dances around the stage is captivating: she just oozes charisma and commitment. Brittany's no diva though: this is a team effort. The entire band has an incredibly tight sound, and the guitar playing in particular has precise attack. The other four players remain relatively static, giving the appearance of introspection, yet it's clear that they're listening intently to each other. This manifests itself in the rhythmic clarity and also in their dynamic shading. The band is capable of effortlessly changing gear from letting rip ferociously to real tenderness. They may sound uninhibited and free, yet behind it lies a wonderful appreciation of nuance and detail.

The music is unashamedly backward looking, a mixture of soul, blues and rock and roll. With only one album, they have a limited catalogue to draw on, and in truth some of their songs are less memorable than the single Hold On. Fame doesn't appear to have dented their creativity though: surprisingly they played a bluesy new song, Mama as part of a more extensive set list than expected. We really do urgently need a live album from them though: Boys and Girls sounds quite thin and timid in comparison with the show, and I'm impatient to hear those new songs again.

For all her magnetism on stage, Brittany made few efforts to engage the audience through chatter: asides were kept to a minimum. Yet, the atmosphere was electric from the moment they started to play, with mass dancing and singing along (remarkable given the album's been out for less than a month), the room hanging on to her every move. Alabama Shakes' ability to create a feeling of togetherness in the room, uniting strangers with a feeling of ecstasy is common to all of my very favourite live acts. Despite the differences in musical style, the similarity in energy level made me think of Portugal. The Man.

This gig took place in Methodist Church buildings, which meant that the band couldn't rely on alcohol to release the audience's inhibitions. It turned out to be an appropriate setting though, since Brittany reminded me of a revivalist preacher, whipping up the audience into a frenzy, and reminding them (through music) of a higher dimension to life. The subject matter of the songs may be hedonistic, but as can fortuitously happen with the best live music, the experience was religious, and the experience was transformational. The sadness that I'm unlikely to see them in such an intimate venue again is tempered by the promise of the joy they will surely bring to mine and so many peoples' lives in the years to come.

Set List
Goin' To The Party
Making Me Itch (new song)
Hold On
Hang Loose
Always Alright
I Found You
Rise To The Sun
Boys and Girls
Be Mine
I Ain't The Same
Worryin' Blues (unreleased)
You Ain't Alone
Mama (7" B Side)
Heavy Chevey
Hurricane Strut
On Your Way
Heat Lightning