As Jack White tore into “Steady As She Goes,” the third song at the Raconteurs’ tour- opening show at the Fillmore on Sunday night, the garage impresario proved his new straight- forward rock band is absolutely not a side project.
Whereas the recorded track – a light-tempered ’70s rock homage that has found an adoring home on modern-rock radio recently – was a safe, somewhat stale choice for a lead single, the song popped Sunday night and with a vibrancy that fizzled and more electricity than that igniting the Raconteurs’ massively blaring PA high above.
The White Stripes frontman was the fearless protagonist, standing tall near the stage’s center with his feet close together and his guitar slung low, ablaze.
Only he wasn’t alone. Brendan Benson, White’s longtime friend who recently relocated from Detroit to Nashville, Tenn., was his co-pilot throughout the night. He stood to White’s right, swapping lead-vocal duties and subtly taking credit for crafting the rock band’s distinctively sunny melodies.
But the sonics never got too bright. The band proved in this, its 20th show since inception by the band’s estimation, that while the Raconteurs have nothing to do with the White Stripes, the former band’s raw, stripped-to- the-bone intensity still dominates and glares – and triumphs, which is key, because the Raconteurs’ debut record, “Broken Boy Soldiers,” simply wasn’t that good.
The band started with an electrified “Intimate Secretary,” showing its psych-rock hand early. The audience reacted noticeably when White, their spazzy alt-rock hero, would chime in with a psychotic backup vocal or railing solo guitar. But the band minded their obvious preferences little. It seemed clear they were just boys being boys – White, Benson, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler joined by auxiliary musician Dead Fertita (of Detroit’s Waxwings) getting away from their pasts and trying to carve out another legacy – a retirement fund, perhaps.
“Together” was a highlight, with its druggy countrypolitan twang and manic chorus. The band sounded jagged but practiced, something that was especially evident on the evening’s covers, David Bowie’s “It Ain’t Easy” – manned by Benson – and Sonny Bono’s “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” – owned by White.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
