The Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard at The Cuban Club, Ybor City on Fri., April 29, 2016. Credit: Tracy May

Beyonce Knowles and Brittany Howard were born almost seven years and 750 miles apart from each other. The former is probably today's most iconic figure in pop music, releasing her most abrasive, soul-baring and downright daring albums to date Lemonade less than a week ago. The latter leads one of the most compelling rock bands (and man there aren't many) today, Alabama Shakes.

By chance, both were slated to play in Tampa on Friday night, and while a better writer could probably give you some lofty essay on the symbolism of all this, I'll just stick to pointing out that Brittany's proverbial beyhive sure ain't a bad one to be in—even when it's some smoked-out parking lot-turned-venue in the heart of Ybor City.

Standing at the end of a line that seemed to lead to a tent with “BEER” emblazoned across the top, I caught the last few songs of opener The Worn Flints' set, which sounded like Led Zep's “Whole Lotta Love” played through a human centipede of 10 gigantic megaphones. I don't know which was worse — that or the “sorry, we've only got Bud Light left” that came from the beer lady's mouth, her face wearing an expression of true agony.

Brittany Howard, Alabama Shakes Credit: Tray May

Sporadic tracks from both albums followed; “Heartbreaker,” “Miss You,” and “Future People,” the last of which, probably my favorite track off Sound & Color, coming off even rawer and more invigorating than on the confines of the record.

I'll spare you the entire the rundown of each and every one of the 17 tracks they played (which I've included below). “The Greatest” was a Ramones-esque jolt from the breezy “Shoegaze” before it; “Hold On” was just as infectiously catchy and uplifting as the first day I heard it, “Don't Wanna Fight” got pretty much every body in the lot moving, and the vibraphone-y chill of “Sound & Color” felt damn near perfect as we swayed under the bright starry sky.

I guess the write-ly thing to do here would be to conclude with another Beyonce/Shakes comparison, so here it goes. Brittany and the Shakes will probably never be the cultural monolith that Beyonce has become. But the Southern-crusted brand of rock they've built is beyond impressive. If last night's show really proved anything, it's that even the most ramshackle of houses can somehow stand tall, even in the midst of a modern pop tidal wave washing over it.