Referred to in one article I read as Jack Whites other other band, this is a side project he's started with members from the Raconteurs and lead singer Alison Mosshart from the Kills. It's been twenty years since Jack White has had a chance to go back to his musical roots and first love on the skins, and he did not disappoint.
The opening act was some good ole boys from Kentucky, The Cotton Tail band I think, and these guys had a definite White stripes sound. They were very entertaining and we hung in for most of the set. We bailed with a song or two left and opted to watch the last few minutes of the wings game on the patio, and give all of our senses a rest before the musical assault I knew lay before us.
Man these guys were good, from the moment they took the stage everyone knew we were going to be in for a really special night of music. The Dead Weather was clearly polishing their act before they explode onto the musical scene with the debut of their first album, and Jack chose his home crowd to bestow this musical honor.
I can only characterize their sound as louder and grittier and more raw than that of the Stripes or the Raconteurs. Jack White was clearly in charge of the band from behind his kit, and even from behind the mass of amps and drum parts and performers, he had a big big stage presence. My first thought was, this guy his huge, with a big 6'6” frame and massive biceps and a wiry, wild head of hair he really commanded attention. He just wailed away on the drums throughout the entire set, and played a big part in the vocals as well.
While Mosshart put on a truly gritty rock and roll female lead performance, it was just a bit over the top girl power for me. As I watched her perform, I just kept thinking, it just seems like female rockers just don't age that well. I couldn't think of a single midlife (i.e. old) female rocker that still commanded real rock and roll respect. Surprise of the night for me was the sound put out by lead guitarist Dean Fertita. This guy just layed down the sound, he also assisted the band with keyboards in a very White Stripes reminiscent sound.
Highlight of the night for me was easily when White ascended from his drum kit and took center stage as an assistant handed him a funky looking guitar. The crowd just took it over the top and he quickly responded with an aggressive blues rock solo that only took him a matter of seconds to break a string. He continued playing his guitar and battling the broken string without missing a beat, which just added to the drama and entertainment value of the performance. It was really awesome to see White behind a guitar, even if it was for just one song. White managed to exceed my expectations, seeing him perform live.
The band has an aggressive and unique sound, it was exactly my brand of music, and I really hope to see it catch. Susan was totally into the performance, and in particular lead singer Mosshart's pouty aggressive rock style. She's usually a good barometer for the quality of the night's show, and we both agreed, this was far and away, the best show we've seen together in a long long time. The fact it was a night veiled in secrecy, in a small, great venue, and so early in the bands history made the night that much more special for us. I would classify this evening as having the rare opportunity to wittiness the early formation of a super group, coming together with all their immense individual talent, and the sum of their musical contributions being somehow better than the parts. They were just that good.
In a bit of irony for the evening, this was the first show where I decided to bring down some of my camera equipment. I was told I couldn't bring in the camera on the grounds it was 'professional' equipment. When I finally stashed my gear back in the car and made my way in, the first guy I bumped into was carrying the same camera I was just told to leave behind. We talked and joked a bit, and I learned that Andrew is a contributor to a really cool local music and culture blog that I will most definitely follow.
So while my attempt at capturing this special event was a failure, I learned to stash my gear in Susans purse in the future, and I discovered a great new source of information on the local Detroit music scene. Not a bad trade off in the end.
I witnessed several people photographing the event with high end gear and big flashes, so I decided to take one crummy shot with my blackberry camera phone just to remember the event by, which came out just absolutely terrible. Oh well, live and learn..
No comments:
Post a Comment