Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Spin The Spin: The Raconteurs and The Kills @ The Ryman
Posted by The Spin on Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Photo by Steve Cross
Check out more photos at nashvillescene.com.
We at The Spin are proud of ourselves for showing up at The Ryman right on time Tuesday night. While we had little difficulty parking, working our way through the seemingly endless, snaking beer line—and even longer merch line—was a different story. We spotted quite a few fringe country performers and industry types, kids buying tour posters, frat boys and old folks done up to the nines before finally finding our seat in the balcony to the washed-out sounds of The Kills. Needless to say, the crowd at The Ryman didn’t seem fully prepared for the looped beats, filthy riffs and lascivious lyrics of the dancy British duo.
Though we find some of The Kills’ tunes relatively intriguing, their indiscernible chord progressions, hipster apparel and lock-kneed dance-struts were certainly the least Ryman thing we’ve caught at The Ryman. Hank Sr. didn’t so much roll over in his grave as sit up and mutter “What the hell?”
After The Kills’ set, the lights came up and The Raconteurs’ roadies—every one sporting a stylish hat—painstakingly arranged their masters’ equipment. We nearly made a run for beer but were kept in our seats by a pleasant but talkative pony-tailed gentleman from Tulsa who insisted on giving us two copies of his kids’ albums. The Red Alert, as they’re called, are—guess what—a two-piece featuring a female drummer and male guitarist decked out in red and white, but most of their tunes turned out to be fairly listenable in a Weezer-meets-Apples in Stereo kind of way.
The Raconteurs began their set after what seemed like an eternity, and, despite a big start—complete with seizure-inducing, pulsating floodlights—the sound was immediately somewhat unsatisfying. We can’t say how things sounded from the floor, but from the balcony we could only make out boomy vocals and Patrick Keeler’s gargantuan, stainless steel Ludwig kit. Little Jack’s cream-colored Rickenbacker remained nearly inaudible for most of their set. We all know The Ryman is lauded for its remarkable sound, but it goes without saying that the acoustics seem a bit more suited for sparer vocals and instrumentation.
In the orange pseudo-Nudie Suit we swear he must never take off, Jack White apologetically admitted that, due to a painful slipped disk, he probably wouldn’t fully be himself. While White laid back on vocals quite a bit, he still played rather energetically. He and Benson, however, kept their trademark noodle-offs to a stark minimum. With a set lasting little over an hour, The Raconteurs were able to play a fairly thorough mix of material off both albums, though earlier singles like "Steady, As She Goes" and "Level" got the young-uns and backwards-hat crowd dancing like mad.
Toward the end of their set, The Kills and former Racs touring member Dean Fertita joined them onstage. In the final song of the encore, White’s wife Karen Elson joined The Kills’ Alison Mosshart to perform some background vocals, though there was much more gaunt, bony, British writhing going on than singing.
Comments (24)
Showing 1-24 of 24
I enjoyed the show overall... the sound was mediocre but waaaay better than the cannery show. I wish I could've seen more of their Bonnaroo set- basically all I saw of it was the first 3 or 4 songs from the photo pit.
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You might have included in your review the fact that Jack White explained early in the show that he was not feeling well that night, and that's why he was not up to his usual high-energy firepower. It's quite professional of him, and considerate of his devoted fans, to go up there and put on a show at all, considering that his health has been suffering for the last several days, and that he probably would have preferred staying home in bed. He even asked the audience if they would be willing to forgive him for not feeling well, which was sweet. But apparently the answer to that question was "Nope."
You might have included in your review the fact that Jack White explained early in the show that he was not feeling well that night, and that's why he was not up to his usual high-energy firepower. It's quite professional of him, and considerate of his devoted fans, to go up there and put on a show at all, considering that his health has been suffering for the last several days, and that he probably would have preferred staying home in bed. He even asked the audience if they would be willing to forgive him for not feeling well, which was sweet. But apparently the answer to that question was "Nope."
The part about Jack White not feeling well was included in the review....5th paragraph.
You might have considered reading the full review before double-posting your diatribe. I've caught The Raconteurs a handful of times and while this certainly wasn't their best show, it also wasn't their worst. I think the review reflects that.
I think "Dee" missed that the reviewer complained about the sound and acoustics and not the performance itself.
Huh, glad it wasn't just me. I was also in the balcony and thought the sound was strangely lacking in guts...even said to my friend that I wished we were seeing them in a big arena, as I think that's the kind of booming sound I was hoping the band would be throwing off last night.
But it was a solid show and I left with a new appreciation for Benson. He's a wonderful musician. Maybe someday he won't have to play such second fiddle to his more-famous band mate.
"....gaunt, bony, British writhing..." LOL Yoko strikes again!
Maybe Karen Elson should stick to what she knows best,(selling crap), and leave the singing to the professionals.
Seriously, though, Jack White is a trooper for sticking it out.
this show was a complete disappointment. maybe this band should "call it a day". how can any band sound bad in the ryman? they've been together for such a short time and are already went downhill. so unfortunate.
After reading the other comments I must say you are certainly a negative bunch. One does not expect perfection from a rock concert. When you take away the spontanaety you lose the joy of just feeling the music and having a great time. Jack White's career is young, with lots of room to grow and he does continue to mature and change with each album he creates. He is a great writer and musician
After reading the other comments I must say you are certainly a negative bunch. One does not expect perfection from a rock concert. When you take away the spontanaety you lose the joy of just feeling the music and having a great time. Jack White's career is young, with lots of room to grow and he does continue to mature and change with each album he creates. He is a great writer and musician
After reading the other comments I must say you are certainly a negative bunch. One does not expect perfection from a rock concert. When you take away the spontanaety you lose the joy of just feeling the music and having a great time. Jack White's career is young, with lots of room to grow and he does continue to mature and change with each album he creates. He is a great writer and musician
After reading the other comments I must say you are certainly a negative bunch. One does not expect perfection from a rock concert. When you take away the spontanaety you lose the joy of just feeling the music and having a great time. Jack White's career is young, with lots of room to grow and he does continue to mature and change with each album he creates. He is a great writer and musician
SuzyQ, Karen Elson actually has a beautiful voice. She's far more talented than most female singers these days, so don't shit on her just because she's a model.
Here's a video of her singing Tennessee Waltz here in Nashville with She and Him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLFZQFGMvH0
Her voice actually seems stronger than the other girls.
This band doesn't deserve to play the Ryman just because Jack White is with them.Such a sad turn he has taken doing this music.Sorry to be "negative" and that people have differing opinions than yours.
Hey man tell us more about that Red Alert band the ponytail guy was talking about.
Jack making up for his aching back made the show that much more interesting. I thought it rocked. Those that think differently just didn't get it. :)
Folks,please let me reiterate.You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.
I tend to agree with the poster on this...
I thought it was the worst mix I've ever heard at the Ryman but was a very good performance...to reiterate...White's performance was great and was professional to have stuck it out.
These guys are about the best thing going in rock and roll right now and while dissapointed with the show the other night, I would pay to see them again. These guys are tight and are damn brilliant musicians and songwriters. It's just a shame that they were fighting the mix all night (which can happen to ANY band ANY time based upon a NUMBER of factors)
While I think that the sound was bad..I don't think it's a reason to throw this band under the bus and say that they're headed downhill.
just my .02
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