The Raconteurs 9/19/06

Some people are born to lead countries to greatness, others are here to entertain with brilliant acting or stunning athletic ability...  Jack White exited the womb with a Les Paul in his hands and euphoric creativeness in his mind.  To say the least, The Raconteurs rocked my face off.  The slowly creeping in "Level" was the perfect tune to lead in to what would turn out to be an unbelievable experience, even though the right side speakers cut out for about 40 seconds.  With terrestrial radio over playing "Steady as She Goes," the band wisely decided to get it out of the way by the third song instead of saving it for the encore set.  Followed by a couple of unknown, yet still strangely familiar cover songs, the boys then played two different versions of "Store Bought Bones" back to back.  The first being more of a medium paced almost kind of a rockabilly feel, which I barely recognized until I listened to the lyrics, they then suddenly blasted into the version on the album.  Now standing in an orthodontist's paradise with every jaw dropped to the floor, we gazed at Mr. White as his tall, built frame jammed through the solo with his signature choppy, epileptic, jerky movements.  His wispy mop of jet black, near shoulder length hair danced around his pale, jovial face as if caught in an unpredictable tornado of rhythm.  Straining his voice to point of gargling rusty nails during "Broken Boy Soldier" opened a window into the heart and soul of a true "born to be" rock star.  Not to mention the other band mates, with Brendan Benson taking over a solo on guitar now and then, and the plain, almost forgettable stage presence of Jack Lawrence on bass.  Phenomenally pounding on the skins, Patrick Keeler had never before seen (at least by this concert goer) dual bass drums of different sizes.  Rounding out the main set with abysmally dark and bluesy song "Blue Veins," a track that would even make Led Zep's "No Quarter" seem cheery, the fellas took a short break.  They came back for the encore with another cover song I wasn't familiar with and then left us begging for more, as they should, by blowing our hair back with "Hands."  Even though I slightly missed the wardrobe out of A Clockwork Orange the White Stripes are known for wearing, after seeing that performance I couldn't help but wonder if maybe Meg White could be holding back all the talent Jack has to offer.  Owning and loving all of the White Stripes albums, it feels dirty saying such a thing but maybe a duet just isn't enough for JW's infinitely creative mind.  Either way, having now seen both of the bands in concert, I'm left thirsty for more shows in a desert of waiting, willing to pay just about any price and travel just about anywhere to experience musical genius like that again.