She Don't Need No Help
by E. C. on 11/21/19Moore Theatre - SeattleThis was the first time I saw Brittany perform live. It's an understatement to say she was an absolute treat. But in my opinion, she should lose the opening act. We waited about an hour and a half to see Brittany and I dare say she was worth the wait. She had the entire sold out audience in the palm of her hand from the moment she stepped on stage and I believe I can confidently say she held each one of us totally captivated right up till the last song. She also gave us our money's worth because she played about two hours - wore me out! Brittany, her band, her back-up singers, her stage set up - everything: totally SLAMMIN. But she just didn't need that opening act. I hate to be critical, especially when it comes to the arts. But that opening act was just a bunch of noise. The young lady who opened seemed to have a nice voice but one could barely hear her due to all the computer generated "music" and beats which only amounted to a bunch of noise. The young man who joined her to "sing" with her on stage? Well, all I can say is that he's probably a very nice person. I'll go out on a limb and say the majority of people in the audience were like me. It was a Monday night so we came to the show after work or after school, meaning we'd been up since early morning. Because of the 90 minute "pre-show", the energy level was beginning to slide downhill for most folks. Brittany DEFINITELY managed to pump us all back up once she came out around 9pm. But a number of people left before the show ended, and it wasn't because they were bored with Brittany's performance. It was because the vast majority of us needed to get home at a decent hour so that we could get back up for work the next day. In conclusion, Brittany Howard was an absolute treat. At first I was disappointed that I hadn't been able to see her perform live with Alabama Shakes but I quickly learned that the woman can hold her own and I definitely plan to see her again - oh yeah. But Brittany, lose the opening act - lose the noise. If you don't want to come out on time, it's alright - I'll wait. You're raw talent - you're worth the wait. But lose the noise. I was seriously feeling like I was getting a little deaf through that opening act. I'd rather save my hearing to listen to you.