Singin' a bad note; lookin' for a scapegoat- The Raconteurs in Atlanta

(Picture from New York Magazine)

The Raconteurs rocked my socks off this Wednesday at the Tabernacle. I wish I had pictures and video like I usually do but documenting the show was impossible because of a considerable douchebag problem- I had to focus on my own survival, see.

I kinda can't say enough about Jack White. My friend William had told me prior to the show that he's like Jimmy Page, raw, dirty guitar, gigantic on stage. Even though he was "suffering from a vocal chord eating disease" - ha! - he wailed. I mean WAILED. Brendan Benson sang a lot of his parts, but then Jack, almost as if he couldn't resist it, would come in at the high point and screech his song, sending lightning bolts down my spine. I'm getting chills as I type about it.

Opening with their title track Consoler of the Lonely they made it abundantly clear that they were giving everything to Atlanta, their final stop of their tour. Other highlights included Many Shades of Black and Rich Kid Blues. The encore was pretty amazing too with Allison Mosshart of the Kills singing lead on Steady as She Goes, and then the final song was a grungy delivery of Carolina Drama complete with audience singalong.

It was such a joy to see such talented, tight musicians rockin out as one giant rock star on a stage framed by impossibly large pipe organ. There were times when the band would take these long, anxious but comforting pauses and the stage lights would fade in a way that it felt like looking through a black and white lens. And then they would come in loud, crashing with eerie harmonies. They are truly incredible performers.

I was super happy and excited to also see the warm up band, The Kills. It's a two piece band that feels like a 10 piece band because the two of them have such strong presence. I was bummed to hear about their tour bus and all their shit disappearing. But I was so glad when they pulled out Cheap and Cheerful as their final song. I just love that line: "I want you to be crazy cuz you're boring baby when you're sane."

I saw a lot of folks taking pictures there - if one of y'all happen to stumble by this blog I'd love to see some! My one regret of this show is that I should have arrived early enough to get a seat in the balcony so I could have actually danced.