Allen Stone

I’ve been an Allen Stone fan for years, but only very recently had the chance to see him live. His soulful sound is very distinctive, and I had reservations as to whether his live performance would live up to the beautiful balances of his studio recordings. As soon as Stone began singing, it was a clear reminder of his early days, singing in church with his father. His control and support wavering over his magical vibrato demonstrated years of practice of live performances. Stone really is at home on the stage.
The venue was large, and didn’t have great acoustics, but it didn’t seem to matter for Stone. He adjusted his performance accordingly making sure that the sound balance was just right for the amount of reverb. This was a great moment, witnessing his musical knowledge.
As Stone entered the stage, his enthusiasm and excitement radiated throughout the audience, and everyone was immediately enthralled to see the performance. He played a wide variety of his tracks, ranging from a Stevie Wonder cover, through to the hit Unaware. It really was a spectacular evening, an artist who goes from strength to strength when performing live. One not to be missed if you can help it!

The 6 foot something long golden haired soulful crooner from Seattle, Washington crimps his way on to the stage with a black fedora. Opening with the mid tempo song “What I’ve Seen”. His vibrato is slow and steady, backed by drums, bass, electric guitar, and two keyboard, one rocking a hammond organ sound and one being a clav/electric piano. They move along the set into the up-tempo swing song, “Sleep”. One of the more intimate moments of the set is when Stone, complete with an acoustic guitar performs his song “Bed I Made”. He has a stunning three-part harmony surrounding his voice, and the finger “snaps” as he refers to them, from the audience. “Celebrate Tonight”, is the slow grooving song that maintains the party vibe of this evening. The set closer is a song called “Satisfaction”. The whole band takes four bar solos throughout the bridge of the song. It is no secret that these are musicians of the highest caliber that Allen Stone could find, they jam until the end of the song, bouncing off of each other, matching each others accents in grooves and harmonizing with each others licks. Stone set his lasers to stun.

Allen Stone's live show was phenomenal. If you've listened to his recorded music you already know that he's an intensely talented soul musician. Beyond his vocal talents his song writing stands out with a style and sincerity that's hard to find. His live show takes all that very apparent talent and amplifies it. He does a great job of drawing in the crowd. On his second song of the night he literally had the entire club doing the step n tap along with him and his singers. His presence onstage invites the audience to get lost in the sound as much as he himself is. There's a great sense of community. He did a great job switching up the playlist between his upbeat dancable stuff and his equally well received slower songs. He mixes up the vocals so that songs sound surprising and still amazing. He also did a really interesting cover of Somebody That I Used To Know and as overplayed as that song has been he totally gave it new life. Basically it was a really great experience seeing an incredibly talented artist. If you get the chance I highly recommend it.

We've been Allen fans ever since seeing him on Darryl's House. Knew then that he's an old soul. Saw him at the Ryman several years ago when he opened for another group. Good, but still a work in progress. He was the headliner last night at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC. What a show! Allen has matured as a performer. He is backed by a great show band and together they bring the funk! Perfectly planned play list, featuring the talents of all individuals in the band. Everything from funk to soul ballads. Allen really connected with the audience and had everyone feeling good. He went out on the floor to give hugs, too. His sense of fun and humility shine through. He and the band left nothing on the table! We sat near the stage exit and could see a bit back stage. When the show ended, Allen thanked and hugged every member of the band for a great show. If you get the chance to see him, don't pass it by!

I loved the actual concert. He is an an amazing entertainer. It was a little unsettling that he didn’t come on until 10:30. I don’t feel I got my money’s worth for the pre show event. All I got was a cheap bag with my badge and a poster of his upcoming concerts which I already have access to. The spin the wheel deal was terrible. I couldn’t see and did not get a ticket to play so it was totally lame for me and my date . In a word , I ended up paying 300.00 for an hour and half concert of my favorite singer. I was thoroughly disappointed with all of what could have been a really good experience. Allen was very sweet and personable. I felt like the pre concert event at the Statler was much better.

So much energy, genuine love for his craft and audience and crew, and a rockin' good time with nonstop songs and action! While he did perform a lot of his more upbeat numbers, which are definite crowd-pleasers, I did overhear some people questioning why he did not perform some of his slower, crooning songs. I thought his set was perfect for the type of vibe he wanted to create. He ended his encore by orchestrating a venue-wide dance-off and climbing onto the lighting structure to amp everyone up!! Crazy! I would definitely see him again. :) Thanks, Granada Theater, for hosting a wonderful artist.

Soul music as it was meant to be performed. Allen Stone and his band love what they're doing and they infected the entire crowd. I have not witnessed such crowd participation in a concert in a very long time. And one point the entire crowd sang a chorus for about 2 minutes while Allen Stone was in the center of the audience, carried on people's shoulders, making everybody "feel just a little bit better after the show, then they felt before it." He most definitely accomplished that, to say the least. It was damn near a spiritual experience. Go see this man, you will have a memorable experience!

What can I say! This is the third time I saw Allen Stone and he was awesome the first time and only improved. it's evident he has gotten so much more comfortable on stage. Saw him at the world Café years ago then in Bethlem Pennsylvania and now back at the world Café. It was so evident how he and his band just enjoy playing music. The crowd was so full of energy enthusiastic and loved the show. Stone never fails to deliver. He just plays to the crowd so well. He has an awesome band and they are so musically polished. I can't wait, and hope Allen Stone makes it to the real big time.

Allen Stone and the Monophonics were absolutely amazing! The concert was more like a festival full of goodness! People, food, drinks, souveneirs as well as artesian goods. The music rocked-- was full of soul and energy. If you are looking for a life altering experience of vibing greatness, you have to go see Allen Stone live. I have never consistently danced my ass off, ever, until attending this event. I have never been around so many friendly and fun people. This was the ultimate event! The SOMO event center was the perfect place for such a rockin' show.

Allen Stone preached the gospel of love and funk last night. Dude has an unreal voice and really made the crowd feel comfortable. He will stop the show between songs and share a story or channel his inner minister and lead the crowd in the Universal Sway. He played a full 2 hour set and the whole time he had huge energy. His backup band is not the most talented but they are on board with the funk that he is delivering. I would for sure see him again and recommend him to anyone who wants to dance and have a good time.