Review: Alvvays introduces itself to Tampa in loud, joyous set at The Ritz

It's been a decade since Alvvays released its debut full-length, and it’s safe to say that Bay area fans have spent a lot of time getting acquainted with the music.

“Thanks for knowing the songs,” Molly Rankin told what looked like a sold-out Ritz Ybor .

The guitarist-songwriter’s indie-rock outfit was halfway through its Tampa debut and had just worked through a lush, soulful run through “Tile By Tile,” a highlight from the band’s latest LP, Blue Rev , which is easily one of the best records to come out in 2022 .

Fans also belted along to early stuff from the band’s debut (“Adult Diversion”) and 2017’s Antisocialites (“Dreams Tonite”) during the much-anticipated set, but reserved their biggest screams for new stuff, especially “Belinda Says.”

“Tell me about Tampa. What do I need to know?,” Rankin asked fans after playing the Grammy-nominated single. The eager crowd yelled back, and the 36-year-old emerged with a valuable nugget of information.

“Oh. Fuck Ron DeSantis?,” she said. “I should’ve known.”

That was as crass as Alvvays got on Wednesday night. Instead, Rankin and the band—drummer Sheridan Riley, multi-instrumentalist Alec O’Hanley, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan, and substitute bassist Lucas (sorry didn’t get the last name)—let the songs do the screaming.

Studio-polished to near-perfection, Alvvays’ music takes on a visceral personality in the live setting. Whether it was O’Hanley’s fuzzy guitar drone on set opener “Easy On Your Own?,” his picking on “Not My Baby” (featuring the guitar tech on tambourine) or Riley’s big kick and sharp snare on “Velveteen” and “Pressed,” so many parts of Thursday’s set found Alvvays being loud like a shoegaze outfit.

And while guitars star in so many of Alvvays’ songs, the clean mix at The Ritz elevated MacLellan’s synth on cuts like “Fourth Figure” and especially “Lottery Noises.”

As thunderous as the band was at times, the attentive audience allowed for a few quiet moments in the 22-song, 85-minute set to let Rankin’s dynamic, deceptively-powerhouse, and almost crystalline vocal ring out on so many songs including “After The Earthquake” and roar-receiving “Hey.” Harmonies between MacLellan and Rankin (“Bored In Bristol”) were heavenly, then launched into another league when O’Hanley joined in for “Archie, Marry Me,” the crescendo of the performance.

After “Atop A Cake”—part of Alvvays’ three-song encore— someone at The Ritz turned on the house lights. The crowd could’ve gotten mad, and it would’ve been awesome to see Rankin do her best Jordan Belfort ,  but she instead reacted in the most Canadian way, by shrugging and matter-of-factly saying, “We’re gonna play one more.”

It was a great first date, and we’re glad Alvvays stayed just a little bit longer.

Alvvays Setlist at The Ritz, Ybor City (May 1, 2024)
Easy On Your Own?
After The Earthquake
In Undertow
Many Mirrors
Very Online Guy
Adult Diversion
Not My Baby
Hey
Bored In Bristol
Tom Verlaine
Belinda Says
Tile By Tile
Velveteen
Pressed
Dreams Tonite
Fourth Figure
Achie, Marry Me
Pomeranian Spinster
Lottery Noises
—
Pharmacist
Atop A Cake
Next Of Kin

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