The first sell-out show of the week arrives in the form of The Raconteurs’ jam-packed Olympia gig. As you would expect, the crowd are totally up for it and Jack White and co. don’t disappoint. Opening with an electrifying ‘Intimate Secretary’, White, Brendan Benson, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler deliver a powerful set that features not only White Stripes-style blues, but also slivers of country, Beatles-y melodies and Led Zep-style hard rock.
Make no mistake about it, The Raconteurs know how to bring the noise and the likes of ‘Steady As She Goes’ and ‘Broken Boy Solider’ practically strip the paint off the walls. Best of all is the way ‘Store Bought Bones’ metamorphoses into a stunning, extended blues workout, with White coaxing wave after wave of crunching riffs from his guitar. Just to prove that they’re not one-trick ponies however, there’s also a tender take on my favourite song on the album, the beautiful acoustic ballad ‘Together’.
They gradually pick up the pace again and there follows a bewitching take on Sonny and Cher’s ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ – updated by Nancy Sinatra for the Kill Bill soundtrack – as well as that soon-to-be-legendary version of Jape’s ‘Floating’. Closing with a wonderful take on ‘Hands’, the blues brothers depart having once again offered compelling evidence of Jack White’s midas touch. Mesmeric.