ALABAMA SHAKES + YOUNG THE GIANT @ BARKER HANGER

Brittany Howard sings and plays guitar as if compelled to do so by another force. Building that illusion of possession is easy for her, but what makes her a master magician is her timing of when she lets us in on the trick. On Thursday night during a break in the Alabama Shakes hit song “Hold On,” she looked up for a split second to give the crowd a wink, and in that moment of anticipation, her maneuver was transparent. She was in complete control of us. Alabama Shakes was a force at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica were the band made the entire hangar scream and shout as they touched down for the Mercedes-Benz Evolution Tour.