The last time Albert Hammond Jr. came to Dallas (1/28/14), he played at the House of Blues as well. He played the main stage opening up for Jake Bugg, touring in support of his stellar AHJ EP. I came just to see him perform, no offense to Jake Bugg, but it was not meant to be. Mostly. I came to the House of Blues at a pretty standard time, thirty minutes after the doors opened to catch Hammond, since he was the opening act. But to my surprise, both acts were pushed ahead nearly 45 minutes and I missed nearly half of AHJ's set. Needless to say, I was pretty annoyed. So when I heard he was coming back to perform at the intimate Cambridge Room at the House of Blues, I was overjoyed and was going to make damn sure I was on time.
For those who don't know, AHJ has another claim to fame outside of his solo career. He has been a guitarist for the Strokes since its inception. Yeah, that little band. So, after his double appearance at the weekend's ACL (one solo show and with the headlining Strokes), he came to the House of Blues, guns blazing. Opening with the very Strokes-esque "Rude Customer", AHJ and company brought the Cambridge Room to a fever pitch with screaming guitars and intensity. To think an artist could play in front of 70,000+ at a festival days before this show and show the same intensity if amazing. He held nothing back, playing songs from every one of his solo albums. Sorry, no Strokes covers. The show hit its highest note when they ended their initial set with "Side Boob". The crowd was jumping up and down and the band was enjoying every second of it. Easily one of the funnest shows I've been to this year. Photos of the show are below:
enjoy.
Albert Hammond Jr. @ House of Blues, Cambridge Room, Dallas, TX
Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor
on
October 13, 2015
Rating: