The Dead Weather: Third Man’s New Group Not "Just Another Side Project”
London, UK – White Stripes/Raconteurs frontman Jack White took the stage last night with his newest project, The Dead Weather, for the group’s first public performance this side of the Atlantic. While the band played a private show Tuesday night for a small collection of London’s rock n’ roll insiders, last night was the first chance for the average fan to get a glimpse of this blisteringly powerful supergroup. And if the crowd’s reaction is any indication, not one of them left disappointed.
The Dead Weather, consisting of White on drums, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Dean Firtita, The Kills lead vocalist Alison Mosshart, and White’s Raconteurs bandmate Jack Lawrence on bass, played to a sold out crowd last night at London’s famous HMV Forum. The Forum, which is roughly the size of Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, was an unusually intimate venue for a collection of musicians who in their other groups have graced the mammoth stages of Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo.
After a serene opening set by British acoustic duo The Smoke Fairies, The Dead Weather took the stage for a scorching set taken mostly from their debut album Horehound, which is due for release in Europe on July 13th and in North America on July 14th. Crowd favourites were the heard-rocking “Hang You From the Heavens” and “Treat Me Like Your Mother,” as well as the eerily groovy “I Cut Like A Buffalo,” all three of which have been released as singles through White’s own record label Third Man Records. But the crowd responded equally well to the rest of the songs, which until Horehound’s release will have only been heard at a handful of live performances.
While The Dead Weather is often referred to as “Jack White’s new band” (the same term thrown around when The Raconteurs debuted in 2006), creative ownership of the group is by no means limited to White. Just as Brendan Benson provides an essential part of The Raconteurs’ sound, each member of The Dead Weather brings something of their own to the table. And with all of this talent, believe me it’s a pretty big table. As if to prove this point, the group’s first single, “Hang You From the Heavens,” was not one of White’s compositions as might be expected, but was written by Firtita and Mosshart. Likewise, “Treat Me Like Your Mother” was a collaboration between all four bandmates. It wasn’t until this week’s release of “I Cut Like A Buffalo” that we got a song that White has the sole writer’s credit on.
Famous for his stage presence and showmanship, Jack White is not an easy person to steal the spotlight from, even when he’s at the back of the stage behind a drumset. White, who began his musical life as a drummer before picking up the guitar, attacks the drums with the same ferocity that he does his electric guitar. His rhythm is as driving and rock-steady as the drum tracks that helped make The White Stripes a household name, but Jack White’s drumming style is far more elaborate than that of Meg White, his ex-wife and long time bandmate. With lines and fills that are as intricate as they are ferocious, he proves that some people really can do it all.
While White still manages to do quite a bit of singing from behind the drumset, it is Mosshart’s voracious, soaring vocals that drive the majority of the songs and tie together White’s drumming with Firtita’s skilled guitar and organ work and Lawrence’s relentless bass lines. Whirling around the stage, growling into the microphone like a woman possessed, she proves a match even for White in terms of stage presence.
Another highlight from the show was the song “Will There Be Enough Water,” a haunting duet between White and Mosshart. For this White let Lawrence sit behind the drumset, picking up his white Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird (also featured in the music video for “Another Way to Die,” White’s collaboration with Alicia Keys for the film Quantum of Solace) to play slide guitar.
The only disappointing thing about this show was that it eventually ended. Clocking in at just over an hour, this was still an impressive amount of material for a group that didn’t even exist at the beginning of the year. And despite a slightly shorter playing time, the “all killer no filler” approach taken by The Dead Weather is much preferable to a longer show with less energy and refinement. The band’s next show will be this Monday in Paris, after which they will return to the US to kick off a North American tour with two nights at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. A full tour schedule can be found on the band’s website, www.thedeadweather.com.
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