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- Published on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 05:46
Review/Photos: The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Lincoln Hall in Chicago, IL; 1.16.10
words and photos by Kirstie Shanley
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It’s no wonder that Canadian three-piece Rural Alberta Advantage has a growing fan base. Every time they return to Chicago, they continue to have more devotees in the crowd who can’t wait to hear their songs again. With their cohesive sense of urgency and dynamics, they are a band who is difficult to forget. In fact, though Bowerbirds were technically the headliners for the sold out Tomorrow Never Knows festival night, Rural Alberta Advantage drew a packed crowd and it was quite clear fans came close especially for them to behold their greatness. No matter how many times they come back, they always leave you feeling lucky you had the chance to see them.
Rural Alberta Advantage always find a way to balance their furious drumming energy (sometimes with dual action of Paul Banwatt and Amy Cole in glorious simultaneous rhythm) with catchy hooks. At the same time, though you can sing along and dance around to many of their songs, the lyrics always layer the music with a meaningful context, which makes them even more special. Seeing them live or listening to their 2009 release, Hometowns is always a fulfilling heartfelt experience that no fan of indie rock should deny him/herself.
Rural Alberta Advantage has been touring extensively for Hometowns and continue to become tighter as a live band as a result. This night, lead singer Nils Edenloff was feeling a little under the weather with a sore throat but this didn’t stop him from giving his all for the entire set. It was unfortunate that there was a limited time as it may have been the reason why Edenloff didn’t introduce each song with its unique background story. However, the setlist overall had a really nice flow with a perfect balance of quieter songs like “Sleep All Day” with more energetic songs like “The Ballad of RAA” and ending perfectly with one of their absolute strongest tracks to date, “The Dethbridge in Lethbridge.”
In addition, the band indulged the audience with their winning cover of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and a new cover for the theme song of the Canadian T.V. show The Littlest Hobo. The Rural Alberta Advantage also introduced a couple of new songs within their approximately 60 minute long set that no doubt made audience members yearning to hear a follow up second album. Similar to their best work, the songs contained a sense of engaging build up and intensity but not overpowering the melody of the vocals and guitar. It’s clearly an exciting time for the band with a great deal for their fans to look forward to. This band has a record of exceeding all expectations and most assuredly will continue to do so. {jcomments on}
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