Alabama Shakes, Main Stage, Friday
A frontwoman in an Indian headdress? A full-grown man in dungarees playing bass? DUNGAREES?! Normally we'd shun such sartorial madness, but since it's Friday afternoon at Electric Picnic, we'll let it slide.
Alabama Shakes may be better suited to a dingy Deep South club, but they send just the right current of soul-tinged electricity to get the crowd assembled at the main stage quivering to life.
True, Brittany Howard's powerhouse vocals help matters tremendously as she bellows out Rise to the Sun and Heartbreaker from the quartet's debut album Boys and Girls with sheer abandon from behind her feathered crown.
And even though the slow, slinky title track decelerates the momentum midway through their set, it's a solid performance that gets hips moving and heads nodding in all the right ways.
Verdict: ***
