WHITE BOY, KILLS

Your plucky narrator went to see the Raconteurs with the Kills last night.

Who? Do you know the White Stripes? Well, the Raconteurs are Jack White’s latest band, after his sister Meg—the drummer in the WS duo—wigged out and “went away” (from which she has yet to return, apparently).

The Raconteurs appeared with The Kills last night—the final night of their summer tour—at the Tabernacle here in ATL. Your humble Unkle Tommy was there. (I won”t go into the details of the Tab here,it is a unique venue, described in detail in an earlier blog Tom Waits…for TR).

As usual, I was solo for this gig, but that really doesn”t bother me. Even after seven years in ATL, I still haven”t found a “music soul mate” with whom to split concerts. Kelly likes much of my music, but is not a fan of the hassles that go with live concerts. So be it.

I arrived just after the doors opened at 7 PM and immediately headed for the open first floor. Standing room only, the first floor next to the stage becomes a giant mosh pit, requiring you to stand for three or four hours, get beer spilled on you, and requiring that you stay where you are for the whole concert,regardless of the size of your prostate. The advantage is that for a general admission ticket you can position yourself directly next to the stage, only feet away from the performers, while meeting like-minded people “up close and personal.” Just my style.

I was able to negotiate a spot next to the stage and got some great pictures. Check out my Photo Gallery at your leisure. I took some shots with my iPhone and several with my Nikon D600. You”ll be able to tell the difference.

The Kills took the stage at about 8:30, and well,killed! An unusual duo, they use a single guitar and a preprogrammed computer for percussion and electronic ambient support. Sounds lame, but the lead guitarist Jaime Hince doesn”t play the strings in the typical sense,he bangs them with his palm, pounds on the body, and rubs the neck across his thighs. The vocal are exceptionally handled by Allison Mosshart, a veteran of several indie/punk bands, joined Jaime in 2001. I saw them in person at a very small basement rock club here in ATL in 2003, and was so impressed I have followed them for the last five years. They tend to spend a lot of time in Europe, so it was a treat to see them live. (Sidebar: their tour bus was stolen the night before while they performed in Nashville. They admitted they still were in the same clothes, and were pissed.)

After a short break (where I held my spot and convinced the person next to me to buy me a beer if I held HIS place) the Raconteurs took the stage. I had never seen them in concert, but loved both the White Stripes music, and Jack White’s unusual guitar riffs and unique clipped singing voice. He—and they—did not disappoint. They rocked the house from beginning to end. And interestingly, unlike so many indie bands today, they wore stylish tailored clothes and there were no visible tattoos (not that there is anything wrong with that).

They played to the house for 90 minutes, and then returned for FIVE additional songs in encore. Sweet.