The Raconteurs Change My Opinion of the Warfield

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Now, I'd only been to the Warfield once before and I cannot say I was too impressed. Yet the opportunity to see the Raconteurs supported by Kelley Stoltz was not something I was eager to miss. Well, Warfield, I was wrong about you, as our kick-ass balcony seats (courtesy of Charlie) made for a near-perfect viewing/listening experience.

The Raconteurs are a well-oiled machine, a fact that is not limited the guitar virtuoso that is Jack White. The quintet (keyboardist Dean Ferita is a touring member) flex their musical muscle at every turn, with each song becoming a high-powered jam. Songs resemble the album versions for the most part, supplemented with heavy solos from guitars turned up to 11. They changed songs up on a couple occasions, with Jack taking the keyboards for the first half of "Store Bought Bones," slowing down the tempo and bringing in more of a pop feel. He later picked the guitar back up and ran through the rest of the song. Brendan Benson's "Call It A Day" turned from an acoustic studio number to an all-out rocker barely over a minute. (Live radio versions of "Store Bought Bones" and "Call it a Day" are now available as b-sides). At all times the group looks as if there is no place they would rather be, especially when running through covers of "It Ain't Easy" and "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," the latter of which was rather impressive. On record, the band feels very heavy on Jack's influence, yet live - their true collaborative nature came out. The encore was heavy on Benson songs, featuring the aforementioned "Call It A Day," as well as Benson/White duets, "Hands" and "Steady, As She Goes." Afterwards, Charlie declared that it may have been the best show he'd ever seen, while I felt like the Hives were pretty hard to top.

Stoltz was top-notch as usual, concluding his set with a cover of Echo & the Bunnymen's "Heaven Up Here," which was featured on a recent Q covers album. We've got the video for Stoltz' "Ever Thought of Coming Back," which you can watch. The Raconteurs also have a new video for "Hands" ...