Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
The Raconteurs, London Astoria, 23rd March 2006
Ah, the gruesome garage-rock twosome have finally come good on that collaboration promise. Brendan Benson and Jack White rolled into town tonight on their first UK tour with new band The Raconteurs, and there I was at the door of the Astoria, ticket in hand, in all it’s touted glory!
Maybe this goes without saying, but The White Stripes are in a league all on their own, so I wasn’t expecting tonight’s show to even come close, even with half the band on stage in front of me. That said, when Jack steps forward and lets rip on the fretboard, it’s the same Mr White we know and love, just with a different coloured t-shirt.
The first few songs are greeted with toe-tapping curiosity by most (including the dude on bass), with Brendan and his corduroy blazer doing most of the talking. Steady As She Goes predictably gets the crowd going, then it’s back to the songs we don’t know, but now they sound better. We’re even treated to a cover of It Ain’t Easy (Bowie?) during the encore, then the last ten minutes are pure rock n roll indulgence, with, i’m tempted to say, a touch of Zeppelin about it!
A quick bow from Jack, and he’s off, ‘Goodnight London, we’ll see you again soon’ says Benson. Yes, sir, you will!
