Reviews

As rock acts go, the Raconteurs weren't exactly steady at the House of Blues on Thursday.

But it was how this kind of concert should go. The band was about 10 minutes late to start: a little dicey, but fashionable and acceptable. The stage was bereft of lighting except for four side-stage LED units that shone on the band instead of the sellout crowd: blissfully simple, with no potential for distraction.

Guitarist-singers Jack White and Brendan Benson toyed with each other throughout the 70-minute set with excitement and elegance, even during the occasional lost moment when one noodled off key or arrived at the mike late to harmonize. Talking was rare; jamming, a little more prevalent; rocking out no matter what hiccups reared up, frequent – especially after the first few songs.

The Raconteurs are far more effective live in this minimal mode. The baby-Queen approach behind Broken Boy Soldiers' tour smacked of Mr. White's penchant for reverential showmanship a smidge too much. Despite a disarming set-long buzz from an overloaded mike (probably one of the two over Patrick Keeler's drums, since his cymbals were barely audible) and some signs of under-rehearsal, this performance came alive once the band had rolled through the Lynyrd-by-way-of-Free new track "Old Enough" 20 minutes in.

Coming alive was fitting, since Mr. Benson's look now resembles Peter Frampton with shorter hair. His singing is Frampton-like, too, which is a great contrast to Mr. White's screechy soul bark. The new CD, Consolers of the Lonely, marks a gritty and emphatic shift in sound, and the concert reflected it since eight of the first nine songs were from Consolers.

Curiously, though, the highlight arrived with revisited material: a verse of ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses" inserted into the center of "Intimate Secretary," which then broke down into a woodsy blues jam to commence a slow-growing trip through "Blue Veins," complete with some hellacious soloing by Mr. White.

That's how you end a set. Heck with the buzzing, the feedback, the torpedoes or whatever; just play.

ARCHIVES: Search for more stories on this and other topics | Search Tips

SUBSCRIBE: Get The Dallas Morning News delivered to your home