Jack White is a forced to be reckoned with, no matter what instrument he’s playing. The man is a master of the live show and knows how to create a memorable experience these settings. Providing that type of show through The White Stripes, which White is the main attraction, is most definitely different than trying to spark that kind of fire with an entire band (The Raconteurs, and now The Dead Weather). The man knows who to surround himself with and makes these projects work. So this time White is behind the kit most of the show, but there’s no question he’s a presence. The Dead Weather brought everything they had to the Congress Theatre in Chicago on Friday.
With the near two hour set filled with tracks from both stellar albums and mixed a few covers in, including a Them cover and their take on Bob Dylan’s “New Pony” (although it does appear on Horehound), you can’t help but throw around the term “supergroup” when you talk about The Dead Weather. As much as the band would probably hate being labeled with such a term, you can’t help but look at the talent that’s on that stage every night for the band. Despite this being a side-project for the members, the member that undoubtedly leaves it all on the stage is Allison Mosshart, comes completely unraveled on stage as a serious force on the mic.
Highlights of the show had to be the rip roaring “Gasoline” as well as the intimate bluesy number “Will There Be Enough Water?”, where Mosshart and White look like they’re about to throw the mic out of the way from between their faces. The band even takes their singles to new heights, where “Blue Blood Blues” tore up as the encore opener, while “Die By The Drop” and “Treat Me Like Your Mother” never sounded more ferocious within the set. The group’s emotion on stage is amongst the best of any live act I’ve ever seen, and for that reason in addition to their short-but-sweet catalog, makes for an exceptional experience.
Setlist:
No Horse
60 Feet Tall
Hang You From The Heavens
The Difference Between Us
I’m Mad
I Cut Like A Buffalo
Gasoline
You Just Can’t Win (Them Cover)
Die By The Drop
So Far From Your Weapon
New Pony (Bob Dylan Cover)
Bone House
Hustle and Cuss
Will There Be Enough Water?
Encore
Blue Blood Blues
I Can’t Hear You
Jawbreaker
Treat Me Like Your Mother
All photos by Claire Keating, buzz Magazine
