The Dead Weather

02 Academy Newcastle on Wed 21st Oct 2009

"Super groups" definitely seem to be all the rage at the moment. Several have cropped up in recent times, and one in particular has been causing a bit of a stir in recent months, The Dead Weather.

The American four piece comprise of Alison Mosshart of London cool kids 'The Kills' on vocals, Dean Fertita of 'Queens of the Stone Age' on guitar duties, Jack Lawrence of 'The Raconteurs' and 'The Greenhorses' playing bass, and fellow Raconteurs man, and 'White Stripes' front man Jack White leading the band from behind the drum kit, taking a very different role to what he's been used to as a front man, but throughout their live set, for certain songs he comes back to the forefront.

There's clearly a lot of talent in this band, and since they formed in January of this year there's been a huge buzz around them, adding a certain amount of pressure on them to deliver the goods.

That they certainly do, and their debut album 'Horehound' showed that no end.

Released in July of this year, achieving a decent position of number 14 in the album charts, the band have only performed a handful of UK dates, mainly in London in support of this, and so this current UK tour was a chance for fans up and down the country to see what all the fuss is about in the flesh.

Speaking to several audience members, many are just excited to see the talent that is Jack White perform live, but as the band take to the stage and get into the swing of their performance, I wouldn't be surprised that their opinion quickly change and become impressed with the band as a whole.

Playing for just under an hour and a half, the band raced through much of their debut album, with highlights including 'No Hassle Night', the guitar riff heavy 'Treat Me Like Your Mother', and my personal highlight of the set, and first single from the album, 'Hang You From the Heavens'.

The latter really summed up what the band are all about for me, and it certainly impressed the sizeable Newcastle crowd. With their guitar heavy brand of alternative rock, and with the fantastic, and beautiful, Mosshart, delivering the perfect compliment to the music with her husky vocals, the band certainly impressed.

This isn't the first time that Jack White has found a different outlet for his music from his original act, having formed The Raconteurs in 2006, but with The Dead Weather, I feel that White is writing and producing his finest music.

There's a new maturity to his music, that I find refreshing, and with the talent on offer from the rest of the group, only adding to the music, they're definitely onto a fantastic project, and seeming them live is the best way to really get into the music.

It's been confirmed that they're already halfway through their second album, so there's much more to come from the band, luckily for us.

article by: Anthony Hetherington

published: 26/10/2009 12:15



FUTURE GIGS


sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.