I had not heard of Alberta Cross before I began studying the Coachella Friday lineup. I discovered they are a Swedish/British duo made up of vocalist/guitarist Petter Ericson Stakee (above photo) and bassist Terry Wolfers who write and play 70’s style guitar-based blues/country/rock. Their songs have the sunny style of “Jessica” (from Allman Bros’ Brothers and Sisters (1973) paired with the chunky chords of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse. In fact, the title song of their EP The Thief and the Heartbreaker has a guitar intro that will carry you back to “Down By the River.” The band is now based in New York City.
From left: P. Ericson, T. Wolfers, A. Beede. Photo by Indie Mom
The other members of Alberta Cross tend to come and go, but I believe on the Outdoor Stage at the Coachella we saw Austin Beede (guitar), Alec Higgins (organ), and Sam Kearney (drums). Please let me know if any correction is needed.
They don’t say much, but Petter is very active onstage, and they put on a good show.
Later in the evening, when Indie Mom and I were waiting between acts at the Main Stage, Indie Mom overheard a conversation behind us that went like this:
Man A: “So what other bands did you see today?”
Man B: “Oh, I saw Alberta Cross. She was pretty good.”
Indie Mom wanted to turn around and tell the guy what he was full of, but she is too nice to do things like that.
Alberta Cross releases their debut full-length in June, and most of the setlist is made up of songs that presumably will appear on it. “The Thief and the Heartbreaker” and “Low Man” are the only ones from the EP. I like these guys a lot, so I bought the EP and I’m looking forward to the full-length.
Setlist
1. Leave Us or Forgive Us
2. The Thief and the Heartbreaker
3. Taking Control
4. Song Three Blues
5. Low Man
6. Pink Floyd
7. New Heavy
8. Rise
9. ATX
A partial video of the band performing “Rise” at this show is posted here on Youtube.
MySpace | Label: ATO Records
Buy at Amazon.com, iTunes, and eMusic
Show Schedule:
May 29-30: Woodstock Mountain Jam
June 11-14: Bonnaroo Festival
- alt-gramma (371)
- indie.mom (395)
- Uncle T (7)
oh dear, some people are just plain stupid, aren’t they? the only thing i can think of is that he was standing really far back and the long hair confused him, although the beard should have been a tip-off . . . : )
April 25th, 2009 at 4:25 am
I hate to say this and take away from how good I think this band is, but with that long straight hair in his face and the hat perched on top, the image that kept flashing on me was not female, but Cousin Itt from the Addams family!
April 25th, 2009 at 9:17 am
lol!! i did love cousin itt, though. : )
April 26th, 2009 at 4:14 am
this performance was def one of the highlights of coachella, even though i hadn’t really heard of them yet. still a stand out! can’t wait for the full-length coming out sept 22. “leave us and forgive us” is a free download on their website right now too.
July 20th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
I write CD reviews, and got this album earlier in the summer, and I must say, it has stayed on my playlist all summer…..it is seriously great…I cannot wait for the rest of America to get into this band….
August 24th, 2009 at 5:38 pm