Alberta Cross Live @ Bush Hall 17.11.2009

Artist: Alberta Cross
SUPPORT:
VENUE, TOWN: Bush Hall, Shepherd's Bush, London
DATE: 17 November 2009
RATING: 5/5

Bush Hall has been an Edwardian dance hall, soup kitchen and snooker club in previous lives, though nowadays it poses as a tasteful and atmospheric venue with chandeliers, subtle red lighting and a piano in the corner – a perfect setting for the night's soulful headliner act.

After impressing RHV with their record 'The Broken Side Of Time', Alberta Cross take their music to a new level in the live environment. With such a selection of incredible songs, it's impossible for a band like Alberta Cross to go wrong. The new single 'Taking Control' was executed to perfection with flair and style as Petter Stakee and co, in just over an hour, put on a performance that was probably one of the best the lucky 300 fans are likely to see this year.

Rocky number 'ATX' managed to move an otherwise static crowd and inspire middle aged men to crowd surf and jump around like they were 16 again, while 'Rise From The Shadows' created a mood so sombre that had they lost power, you would have been able to hear a pin drop.

Apparently everyone with long blonde hair and is in a band is trying to be Kurt Cobain, and a lot of people are saying this about front man Petter Stakee, but don't be fooled by the fools because if you watch Alberta Cross for yourself, you'll struggle to compare their unique blues, folk, country and classic rock inspired wall of sound to anything you've ever heard before.

I originally wrote this for Red Hot Velvet