Fresh off a US tour supporting The Killers and an international tour with Franz Ferdinand, Albert Hammond Jr. continued his US headlining tour on Friday with a sold out show at First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. It was The Strokes guitarist’s first show at the Church since November of 2015, but this time he was there to play songs from his latest album, Francis Trouble.
The fourth solo album, released earlier this month, is the follow-up to 2015’s Momentary Masters. According to an interview with Rolling Stone in February, the album explores the stillborn death of Hammond Jr.’s twin and “the lingering effects that event has had in his life and music.” “Muted Beatings,” the first single off the new album, was just one of the many new songs Hammond Jr. performed on Friday.
Before he played, however, The Marias played a great opening set. The L.A. band’s combination of jazz, psychedelia, and funk was met with applause and appreciation from the Philly crowd. The Marias played a set of about 45 minutes which included the performance of a new song. After their set concluded, the audience was buzzing and you could feel the excitement in the room.
After getting the equipment set up, the lights in the Church dimmed and the intro from The Doors song “The Soft Parade” began playing over the speakers. The members of the band then made their way to the stage, and the last person to arrive was, of course, Albert Hammond Jr. Upon his arrival, the volume of the crowd immediately intensified. The band then began their first song of the evening, “Caught by my Shadow,” a track from Momentary Masters.
Hammond Jr. went on to play a set featuring lots of songs from the new album, such as “Strangers,” “Far Away Truths,” and “Tea for Two.” They also played “Set to Attack,” a song who’s music video had been released earlier that same day, and, debatably, one of the best songs off the new album.
It wasn’t all new songs on Friday night, however. “Back to the 101” and “Everyone Gets a Star,” both off of Hammond Jr.’s first solo album, Yours to Keep, were some highlights from the performance. Perhaps the most exciting part of the show occurred when the band played “Side Boob” off of Momentary Masters. During this song, Hammond Jr. left the stage and began walking through the crowd before returning to the stage to finish the song.
After playing “In Transit” and announcing it would be their final song, the band left the stage to cheers of “Al-bert! Al-bert!” which soon gave way to “one more song!” chants. They returned a few minutes later to play a four song encore. One of the songs, “Blue Skies,” was actually a request from an audience member and wasn’t intended to be on the original setlist. Finally, they played “Muted Beatings,” and Hammond Jr. showed sincere appreciation for the receptive and energetic Philly crowd.
Albert Hammond Jr. continues his tour of the US and Canada for the next two weeks or so, wrapping up the tour with a show in Portland on April 12. For more information about the tour or Francis Trouble, check out his website.
