Sufanatic3It’s hard to say where a band name like The Dead Weather comes from. It could be describing a blustery day in London, it could be how they say "Day Waiter" in Nashville, the bands home, or it could have been a phrase that a record company Exec. muttered to Jack White after he told him he wanted to form, yet, another band ("Do whatever, Jack. You career is Dead Weather you like it or not."); After seeing The Dead Weather kick off their American tour last night to a sold out show at the legendary Fillmore Music Hall in San Francisco, I can assure you that it is most likely not from the third choiceThe Fillmore, if you have never been, is kind of like the Vic, but with less exciting chandeliers, a basket of apples supposedly laced with psychedelics (most likely not), and ushers who probably relocated to San Francisco during the Summer of Love, and never left. The Fillmore is exactly the type of venue where unbelievable moments in music should be made, which is exactly what The Dead Weather did last night.
The band -- which consists of former White Stripe and Raconteur drummer/singer/guitarist Jack White; Dean Fertita, the guitaring-keyboarder for Queens of the Stone Age; Raconteur bassist, Jack Lawrence; and Alison Mosshart of The Kills, has a gritty, blues based sound that makes you think of a southern juke box, warm Jack Daniels, cigarette smoke and the smell of latex.
The crowd was full of people that, if I had to describe them, were the type of people that didn't care if their belt matched their shoes, and probably consisted of a a few guys who "look like a woman", but "cut like a buffalo". The bartenders, all old-timers, looked bored with the sorta-Santa Cruz looking crowd until three of the four band members of The Dead Weather appeared, and co-singer Alison Mosshart took the stage.
If you know little to nothing about the background of Alison Mosshart's other band, The Kills, you are missing out on a duo, who ironically was constantly compared to The White Stripes when they first came out...probably to a sickening point. But if there is one thing I have learned in this business, it's that most people don't mind any sort of Jack White comparison (see my interview with LA band The Willowz, another band to check if you love that high-voice and high-hat hitting vintage sound). With the comparison being one thing, imagine playing in a band with the man who many critics base most of your career on. Imagine playing in a band where as you come out, the crowd shouts, "I love you Jack White". I mean, if you are going to play with Jack White, you better be ready to, as they say, "shit or get off the pot". Simply put, Alison Mosshart was the shit.
Most chicks can't rock like that. I said it. As she rocked through a set-list that was partially from Horehound, their first album, and partially off of Sea of Cowards (available 5/11), she sang phrases like, "Tell me to fu*k off if you like, you beautiful little scum bag...to hell with forgiveness" ("Treat Me Like Your Mother") and staggered through, "Hang You From the Heavens" and "60 Feet Tall". Mosshart, who has a not-so-subtle tension with White, is not a gorgeous sex pot with freshly dyed black hair and fishnet tights who bats her eyes and sings a decent hook for a band with a clever name. She wore a dirty black t-shirt with black leggings and a jacket that she took off shortly into her second song. Her hair was a mess, but frankly put, it didn't matter. She could have worn a confederate flag and would have still been just as compelling. And as she took the stage with no sober restraint, reminiscent of Janis Joplin during her days with Big Brother and the Holding Company, she worked that stage, writhing and bumping her chest and body to every beat that Lawrence and Fertita bounced off her.
To say that Alison Mosshart stole the show would probably be true at a Kills show, but with White in this band, its simply not the case. Hell, bassist Jack Lawrence is pretty amazing, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters when you have Jack White and a drum kit. Or Jack White and Alison Mosshart combined on a song. They played well off each other, like bass and guitar or peanut butter and chocolate. Probably one of more memorable songs from last night was their duet from the new album, Sea of Cowards, called, "Die By the Drop", a song White and Mosshart shared on one microphone, with Mosshart seemingly singing for approval from White.
The encore, "Cut Like A Buffalo", the bands most famous single to date, was the best moment of the night; The slightly boozed (and really boozed) crowd yelled, "Is that you choking, is that you choking, is that you choking, or are you just JOKING." Proving that no matter what the name of Jack White's newest project or band name is, when it comes down to it, Jack, all your fans can say is, "Whatever makes you HA-PAY"
The Dead Weather will play another night at The Fillmore, followed by a quick stop at Coachella music fest, before heading onto their 12 other tour dates throughout the US.
The band -- which consists of former White Stripe and Raconteur drummer/singer/guitarist Jack White; Dean Fertita, the guitaring-keyboarder for Queens of the Stone Age; Raconteur bassist, Jack Lawrence; and Alison Mosshart of The Kills, has a gritty, blues based sound that makes you think of a southern juke box, warm Jack Daniels, cigarette smoke and the smell of latex.
The crowd was full of people that, if I had to describe them, were the type of people that didn't care if their belt matched their shoes, and probably consisted of a a few guys who "look like a woman", but "cut like a buffalo". The bartenders, all old-timers, looked bored with the sorta-Santa Cruz looking crowd until three of the four band members of The Dead Weather appeared, and co-singer Alison Mosshart took the stage.
If you know little to nothing about the background of Alison Mosshart's other band, The Kills, you are missing out on a duo, who ironically was constantly compared to The White Stripes when they first came out...probably to a sickening point. But if there is one thing I have learned in this business, it's that most people don't mind any sort of Jack White comparison (see my interview with LA band The Willowz, another band to check if you love that high-voice and high-hat hitting vintage sound). With the comparison being one thing, imagine playing in a band with the man who many critics base most of your career on. Imagine playing in a band where as you come out, the crowd shouts, "I love you Jack White". I mean, if you are going to play with Jack White, you better be ready to, as they say, "shit or get off the pot". Simply put, Alison Mosshart was the shit.
Most chicks can't rock like that. I said it. As she rocked through a set-list that was partially from Horehound, their first album, and partially off of Sea of Cowards (available 5/11), she sang phrases like, "Tell me to fu*k off if you like, you beautiful little scum bag...to hell with forgiveness" ("Treat Me Like Your Mother") and staggered through, "Hang You From the Heavens" and "60 Feet Tall". Mosshart, who has a not-so-subtle tension with White, is not a gorgeous sex pot with freshly dyed black hair and fishnet tights who bats her eyes and sings a decent hook for a band with a clever name. She wore a dirty black t-shirt with black leggings and a jacket that she took off shortly into her second song. Her hair was a mess, but frankly put, it didn't matter. She could have worn a confederate flag and would have still been just as compelling. And as she took the stage with no sober restraint, reminiscent of Janis Joplin during her days with Big Brother and the Holding Company, she worked that stage, writhing and bumping her chest and body to every beat that Lawrence and Fertita bounced off her.
To say that Alison Mosshart stole the show would probably be true at a Kills show, but with White in this band, its simply not the case. Hell, bassist Jack Lawrence is pretty amazing, but it doesn't matter. Nothing matters when you have Jack White and a drum kit. Or Jack White and Alison Mosshart combined on a song. They played well off each other, like bass and guitar or peanut butter and chocolate. Probably one of more memorable songs from last night was their duet from the new album, Sea of Cowards, called, "Die By the Drop", a song White and Mosshart shared on one microphone, with Mosshart seemingly singing for approval from White.
The encore, "Cut Like A Buffalo", the bands most famous single to date, was the best moment of the night; The slightly boozed (and really boozed) crowd yelled, "Is that you choking, is that you choking, is that you choking, or are you just JOKING." Proving that no matter what the name of Jack White's newest project or band name is, when it comes down to it, Jack, all your fans can say is, "Whatever makes you HA-PAY"
The Dead Weather will play another night at The Fillmore, followed by a quick stop at Coachella music fest, before heading onto their 12 other tour dates throughout the US.
