The Dead Weather @ First Avenue
As Monday’s sold out Dead Weather show progressed it became quite clear that the band is much more Alison Mosshart’s “side project” than Jack White’s, as she owned the stage and the songs while White was content to mostly stay in the shadows. She seemed to really thrive having a full, extremely talented band behind her, and truly reveled in being able to lose herself in a new batch of songs. The band wasted little time between tracks during the Dead Weather’s blistering 70 minute set, and said hardly a word other than a few polite “thank yous” from Mosshart to the tightly packed First Avenue audience, alternating between having the stage shrouded in darkness and blinding strobe lights that simply added to the mystery and mystique of the group’s sinister songs.
[video by Steve Engelmayer]
Striding purposefully on stage dressed mainly in all black, the four members of Dead Weather took to their instruments and immediately raised a ruckus with the piercing blues of “60 Feet Tall” that found Mosshart prowling on the amps, adding appropriate height to her already larger than life stage presence. The crunching “Bone House” was up next, and was even more volatile live than the Rage Against the Machine-like sound of the studio version. It was evident that the band didn’t need any time to warm up, as it hit the stage in high gear and never let up once during the 13 song set. The group also seem to still be finding its way into the heart of its songs, and seem to be getting acclimated to each other on stage through intensity and passion. It was interesting to see the band flesh out the melodies and arrangements of songs that, to me at least, are a bit staid on Horehound but really come to life live. “Hang You From The Heavens” has been a song I’ve been playing almost non-stop since it first was released back in March, and live the band really adds an extra ferocity to the track as Mosshart writhes and wails in torment while White and guitarist Dean Fertita try to keep up with her with their pummeling drums and nasty riffs. It was a ferocious highlight of the early part of the set.
White stepped out from behind the drum kit to sing lead vocals on the band’s rendition of the Them classic “You Just Can’t Win,” with Fertita and bassist Jack Lawrence giving the song a mellow, haunting intro over White’s fervent vocals, before he returned to the kit to finish the song. Mosshart just sat down during the number, banging absentmindedly on a tambourine, brazenly breaking the club’s no smoking rule, which she chose to ignore all night long. It was a fantastic cover. The band kept its momentum going with a sultry, smoldering version of “So Far From Your Weapon” that found Mosshart picking up a Bo Didley-esque rectangle guitar and adding to the rich clamor the band was making.
[video by Steve Engelmayer]
I don’t much care for the recorded version of “I Cut Like A Buffalo,” but the live version is a completely different beast; it’s cacophonous and explosive, and the band manages to create enough of a racket to hide the somewhat puerile lyrics of the song. Usually coughs are masked during a performance, but here the intentional coughing of White and Mosshart only served to strengthen the songs off-kilter beat and add to the bedlam unfolding on stage. The obscure “Child Of A Few Hours Is Burning To Death” by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (who?!) was positively tempestuous, and proved that the band’s record collection is far deeper than any of its fans’. “Rocking Horse” found Lawrence leading the way with his steady (as he goes—sorry, couldn’t resist) bass line, and Mosshart and White trading vocals while the song erupted. But this song, combined with the somewhat plodding “No Hassle Night,” was in need of a spark and was the low point of the set.
That much needed spark arrived shortly after as White again came out from behind the kit, this time he strapped on a guitar for a savage duet with Mosshart on “Will There Be Enough Water.” On the record this song is somewhat subdued and muted, but live it is turbulent and completely captivating, with White’s two solo’s during the song being complete showstoppers. It was a superb way to close out the set, but I was still surprised to see the band strolling off the stage after only 50 minutes or so.
[video by Steve Engelmayer]
But after a brief wait, the band came out to deafening applause for its encore, kicking things off with an absolutely killer cover of the Pentagram song “Forever My Queen,” which was absolutely on fire, and found Mosshart climbing the speakers and nearly climbing into the crowd as she lost herself in the majesty of the moment. It was only a couple of minutes long, but during that time the band proved that the Dead Weather isn’t anybody’s side-project, it is a hard hitting band of its own, and can own any stage its members step on to.
Following that up with the enormous sound of the band’s current single, the menacing “Treat Me Like Your Mother,” completely set the place off. Mosshart strutted all over the stage, delivering her kiss-off lyrics with an attitude and flair that really isn’t equaled in modern music. White chimed in on the chorus and kept the song chugging along with his monstrous drum beats, while Fertita fed the audience sick riffs, both with his guitar and keyboards. It was a monster of a song, and the crowd responded so enthusiastically that White immediately said “one more,” and counted off the beats for the band’s incendiary cover of Dylan’s “New Pony” that closed out the night forcefully and perfectly.
[video by Steve Engelmayer]
It was by far the best encore I’ve seen this year, with the band tearing through these three songs without rest, capping off a fantastic show with a triumvirate of songs that left me breathless and spent. The Dead Weather conquered First Avenue with a small batch of songs but a massive wall of sound, style and attitude that left everyone wanting more. Whether or not we get more is up to the band’s members themselves, of course, but if they choose instead to focus on their other renowned projects, all that were in attendance at First Avenue will have the memories of this show ringing in their ears for quite some time to come.
[review by Erik Thompson, photos by Jon Behm]
Setlist:
60 Feet Tall
Bone House
Hang You From The Heavens
You Just Can’t Win (Them cover)
So Far From Your Weapon
I Cut Like A Buffalo
A Child Of A Few Hours Is Burning To Death (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band cover)
Rocking Horse
Will There Be Enough Water
Forever My Queen (Pentagram cover) (encore)
Treat Me Like Your Mother (encore)
New Pony (Bob Dylan cover) (encore)
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I also wanted more of White. I think the show was a sold out because of him. Honestly Cut Like a Buffallo simply made my brains want for more.
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Josh
“I think the show was a sold out because of him”
Understatement of the year.
The Kills also sold out First Avenue back in May, so I don’t think all of the appeal can be attributed solely to Jack. Plus, Alison is so much more fun to watch
Fair enough, but who gets the blame for the $30 tickets?
honestly i got tired of Alison’s posturing at this show… it was just TOO much of a put on. While standing on the monitors worked for ‘60 Feet Tall’, she did it nearly 50%+ of the show.
she’s much more entertaining, natural, and fun to watch fronting The Kills imo.
now the show was pretty decent, and certainly way better than the medicore album, but to me it compensated for the lack of great songs/hooks with a lot of flash & volume.
great if all you’re looking for is a big dumb rock show i suppose, but i woulda liked a little more substance.
Dude, I thought the show was awesome. I didn’t mind the posturing at all – to me it went perfectly with the bombastic style of the music
Solace, if you don’t appecate the rare chance to see real showmanship and quality music in this day and age you should simply stay home.
To be honest, Solace, I don’t find there to be much difference at all between Alison’s Kills persona and her Dead Weather “posturing,” as you put it. At the Kills last show at First Ave she spent just as much time climbing on the speakers and monitors as she did on Monday-and when there aren’t things to climb on (like at the Kills show at the Triple Rock) it seems that she just paces around on stage in circles, like a caged animal in a way-she just obviously has a lot of pent up energy, and needs to release it in one form or another. To me, that’s not posturing at all, it’s just completely losing yourself in the music. And, when Alison is lost in her music on stage, it’s impossible for me to take my eyes off of her.
it’s all personal perception, so neither of us are “wrong or right” whether it’s posturing or not
. i know plenty of people who felt similar to me (Steve wasn’t that big on her or the show either). i also like her vocals with The Kills a little more too, fwiw. i haven’t seen her w/ The Kills in a few years (w/ Bloc Party where she rolled and flailed about on the ground a bunch) and prior to that at the Entry.
i found the lighting a bit overdone at times too (nearly got a headache by the end). Sonic Youth had some pretty crazy lighting too but i thought it was a bit more understated.
like i said, i enjoyed the show WAY more than i thought i would, but had I paid $30+ i’d have been a little let down musically is all. the project has potential, no question there, but so far songwriting wise it does’t do much for me.
and Jon, that’s cool, glad you dug it, i kinda figured you wouldn’t have cared for it musically for some reason.
and i should also have clarified that I actually prefer Alison’s first band Discount musically to The Kills a bit as well.
I guess I don’t care whether the show was good or not (I am sure it was fine), I just can’t help overlooking the frivolous ticket prices. Why is it that more people don’t say anything about another Spin hyped band charging people $30 (before fee’s!!) when they have 60 minutes of music recorded to date. If this was that band with Scott Wieland and Slash (I forget their name), people would be up in arms over the exorbitant prices, but since it is Indie rock deity Jack White and a sexy girl, mainstream media (Star Trib, Spin, RS, etc) fall over themselves proclaiming another “return to rock,” when there are countless great bands (both locally and nationally) who charge 1/3 this price (or less). I guess I am just tired of bands (whether they are good or not) getting anointed as great bands (and selling $30 tickets and $30 posters) like they have done something to earn it. I would question anyone who believes that if this band, with the same CD, would have been able to reach the levels of success (and charge the amount they did) if they didn’t have White and Mosshart. If you can’t argue with that, doesn’t it reek a little bit of skipping to the front of the line? For all the backlash over “hype” and “pitchfork” bands, there seems to be a deafening silence when it comes to “super groups” who use their name and popularity with mass media as leverage sky high ticket prices and other “perks” lots of other very great) bands work very hard to get.
Note: I love most everything Jack White does and am a fan of the Kills, so I suppose I could have picked a different band to rant against, but this is a pretty clear example of something that has bugged me for a while.)
not going to find any arguments from me regarding high ticket prices Josh, it’s annoying as shit.
$65 for Monsters of Folk after fees? FUUUUUUCK THAT. and M. Ward and Jim James are 2 of my fave songwriters of the 00’s (Matt is my favorite singer/songwriter post ‘00)
it should be pointed out that Built To Spill are charging $18 for their upcoming First Avenue show and have been around over 15 years now and still kick ass.
Oh yeah, I was also amazed at the number of people around me who paid
$30 but had never heard a single Dead Weather song before the show.
Kinda shows you how crazy Jack fanboys can be.
I see your point, Josh, and agree with you to a certain extent. I guess if I wasn’t so satisfied with the show, perhaps I’d be more on your side. But the problem you speak of is industry wide, not just “supergroups” jumping to the head of the line. I mean, Sonic Youth charged $30+, but they get away with it because they’ve been around for so long-but I remember seeing them at the Mainroom years ago for $10, and I’m sure their show hasn’t changed all that much. They can just get away with it now, and sold out First Ave no problem. Fleet Foxes are charging $22 and sold out First Ave (and probably could’ve sold it out charging twice that). Mos Def is charging $35 a ticket for his show this Saturday. Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek are charging $30. And, like Solace was saying, when a band makes the jump to a theater show or Roy Wilkins, the price jumps exponentially. It just costs more for bands to tour (and it is where the bands make most if not all of their money), and a lot of that cost is unfortunately passed on to us fans. But, if it’s an artist I love and support, like Jack and Alison, I’ll pay it no problem. The show was worth it, in my opinion. Ryan Adams last show at the State Theater on the other hand…
Was Sonic Youth really $30? For some reason I thought advance tix were $25.
It was worth the $$ either way I guess.
That’s what I thought-I could be wrong though. But yeah, some shows are worth the $$, no matter how much initial ’sticker shock’ is involved.
yeah, but for me rarely any show over $25 is truly worth the $$, with a very few exceptions.
“But, if it’s an artist I love and support, like Jack and Alison, I’ll pay it no problem.”
Like you paid to get in….
This time, I actually did. I got tickets through the Dead Weather pre-sale, mainly so Jenn could go with me (and I knew the show would sell out quick). But yes, let’s be honest, it does make it a bit easier for me to pay a little more for a show when I am quite fortunate to get into so many shows for free.
Yawn.
honestly, i don’t see why everyone is up in arms over 30 dollar ticket prices. i have seen shows a lot worse for much more money, lets talk about green day or foo fighters charging 40-50 dollars +fees for exel shows where you can barely see them. and you have over the hill, past there prime bands like u2 charging hundreds of dollars a ticket. i was in the front row for this show, and it was one of the best i have ever been to and i thought it was well worth the money.
well that’s what you get for paying to see Foo Fighters & Green Day in 2009
actually those shows were years ago now. dark times… moved onwards and upwards since then.
What about how this band and how they grafted their sound and schtick (at least Allisons) tom the Royal Trucks album Cats and Dogs? Is it tribute or are they taking advantage of the legions of White fans that have surely never heard that relatively obscure album?