Sonic Youth is that rarest breed of rock band - a group that’s been around for almost thirty years, has no real dirty laundry, is still getting along great, and most importantly, is still relevant and making important records like “The Eternal” a tight 12 song effort that was on prominent display July 6^th at the 9:30 Club in DC. 

A Tuneful Primal Scream

            A Perfect Storm         

The Dead Weather played two shows at New York City’s Terminal 5 on the 16th and 17th of this month.  The shows corresponded roughly to the release of the band’s first album, Horehound (Europe July 13, US July 14), and the launch of Third Man Records.  Taken together, the three combine to form nearly a perfect storm of the lugubrious record industry.  The shows at Terminal 5 may have revealed the extent to which a storm on the industry had been brewing.

            Guns Blazing

The video for “Treat Me Like Your Mother” features Jack White and Alison Mosshart, clad in all black, coming at one another with automatic weapons.  By the end of the song, the two have run out of clips and ammo, and both are riddled with bullets.  As Jack walks away from the scene, you are treated to the visual effect of the setting sun coming through the bullet holes dotting his torso.  The video provides an especially good metaphor for the launching of the band’s current tour.  The Dead Weather has, indeed, come out with guns blazing.  The band is in the early stages of a North American tour that will see them visit over twenty major cities by early October, the bulk of which they will visit by the end of August.  It is important to note that the band had its first show on April 14 of this year with the release of the single for “Hang You from the Heavens” taking place only a month previous.  The band was, in essence, touring without a released record to promote between June and early July.  The speed and aggressiveness of The Dead Weather’s ramp up period has been, as a result, both noteworthy and refreshing.

This aggressive stance is further mirrored by Third Man Records.  While many (or even most) mainstream record companies are currently seeking to simply remain financially viable, Third Man Records is aggressively forming “pop up stores” to promote the new label.  At this point, Horehound is the only full-length album on the label.  While this apparent limitation could easily be a problem for the timid, Third Man is promoting a solid album in a way that may not have been possible before the birth of the Internet.  Specifically, pop up stores may present a significant change in the way that records are sold: the stores have little overhead (rent for a few days), the records contained within the store are rather specific (people already know what they want to buy going in), and the experience of shopping in a store that was an office for rent the days before and after is intriguing.  Third Man Records has a good product and they are promoting it using guerilla marketing.  The result of this endeavor will likely be that Third Man will have an unusually successful inception and grow to promote more bands.    

            The Gambit

The preceding does illustrate working with an element of risk.  The effect of viral video and the Internet can make or break any number of projects, the Dead Weather and, by extension, Third Man Records included.  However, this is clearly a calculated risk. 

For this gambit to pay off, shows need to go better than your run of the mill rock and roll concert.  Average shows will lead to a lack of urgency from concert attendees (by extension, to all of the people that concertgoers talk to about the show) and slow record sales.  Pop up stores would exacerbate this effect.  Below average shows would kill the project outright.  Solid shows that generate positive buzz are essential to the vitality of the project.

Fortunately, The Dead Weather appears to be more than up to the task of delivering a superb concert experience with only the use of Dead Weather material.  Superb concert versions of “60 Feet Tall” and “Hang You from the Heavens” delivered early in the concert effectively hooked the entire crowd at Terminal 5.  Mosshart’s simultaneously raw and smoky voice worked the crowd to a near fever pitch during the early portion of the show.  White then finished the work that Mosshart began in whipping the crowd into a frenzy with “I Cut Like a Buffalo.”  From this point in the show onward, the crowd was completely engaged and enthralled in experiencing The Dead Weather.

Once the quartet had the full energy of the crowd, they kept it until the close of the show.  Solid versions of “So Far from Your Weapon” and “Treat Me Like Your Mother” left the crowd roaring in the wake of the songs.  Mosshart and White played off each other brilliantly during “Rocking Horse” and “New Pony,” with the crowd clearly relishing every interchange.

 The band’s rendering of “Will There Be Enough Water?” provides an easy choice for musical highlight of the evening.  Mosshart and White play off one another marvelously, the energy between the performers being positively tangible.  This energy was bettered by White’s guitar solo during the number.  White worked a single chord with mastery and violence until a string broke on the guitar (a relatively rare occurrence during a concert).  White continued the solo, switching guitars with the aid of a stage hand as he went, finishing the song and the solo with a great flourish that left the crowd in an absolute fervor.

            Aesthetic

To be certain, Jack White is a man who is concerned with aesthetics.  As an example, while the color scheme for both The Dead Weather and Third Man Records is not the same as that of The White Stripes, all three fall within the color parameters of De Stijl.  Jack White’s guitar solo for “Will There Be Enough Water?” saw him work primarily one chord, consequently providing something of an object lesson for those that may mistake speed for technical mastery.  Most significantly, The Dead Weather did not play songs from other bands.  To be fair, “New Pony” is, in fact, a Bob Dylan song.  However, The Dead Weather version would not likely be confused with Dylan, and the song has its place on Horehound.  The band did not play a single song from The Kills, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, or Queens of the Stone Age.  Although it would be easy to take songs from the best of each group’s offerings, the band made an artistic choice in playing only its own material.  And despite the fact that probably no one would protest the inclusion of a past hit, The Dead Weather is about The Dead Weather. 

The group made the right choice.

            Stage Presence(s)

Jack White and Alison Mosshart bring a great deal to the table as entertainers.  Alison Mosshart is an incredible performer.  It’s really quite amazing to watch her turn full-grown men into mush with only the slightest taunts and the sound of her voice.  There are even reporters that lose all sense of scope and make wild declarations of love after hearing Miss Mosshart.  Reading the past few sentences is one thing.  Fully understanding them is another.  It makes a lot more sense to see men turn to mush and to read the foolish statements of some reporters after seeing Alison Mosshart live in concert.  To say that she writhes on stage is not an exaggeration.  There was literally a point in the concert where she was laying on top of a series of monitors, writhing away, desperate male arms extending to within reach of her arm.  Couple her blatant sensuality with her phenomenal voice, and it’s little wonder that men behave so foolishly.  

There’s something larger than life about Jack White.  It doesn’t hurt that he is on the taller side – White is 6’2” by most accounts.  While he appears essentially mannerly, there is a rather plain aggressiveness about him.  Most musicians attempt to make a show of their effrontery.  White, on the other hand, appears to truly be that confident.  He is able to give an aura of being in control when the vast majority of rock musicians give an aura of make believe.  It is rare to see this form of confidence on the stage.  Given the way that he works his instruments and the crowd, his demeanor is not without cause.

            Primal Scream

After the show is over, what may be most memorable is Mosshart working the crowd, and White beating the snot out of the drums.  Mosshart does not seduce the crowd partially.  The corollary to this is that Jack White does not play the drums timidly.  Mosshart’s vocals and White’s playing of drums are as primal as can be currently found in rock music.  Violence, sexuality, and id desires are fully present in music that sounds as loud and as forward as rock and roll should sound.   

This leads to the primary point of contrast: main stream rock and roll is boring.  The song lyrics are second rate, albums are overly produced, and the music is as predictable as it is forgettable.  Mainstream rock suffers on as a languid enterprise without even the apparent will to cure itself of the coughs and colds that ail it.

The Dead Weather made a fundamental statement in their shows at Terminal 5.  They got back to the source of energy that is at the heart of rock music.  Theirs was a primal scream that echoed into the night beyond Times Square. 

     
Recently, amazing folk/jazz/bluegrass duo HoneyHoney stopped by WSYC FM’s Studio’s for an interview and a few songs on The Global Cafe. HoneyHoney are Suzanne Santo & Ben Jaffe, they met in Venice California and started one of the coolest folk acts working in music today. Suzanne & Ben also share some wonderful stories about their past job’s and also an amazing tale of their first live performances in California.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR HONEYHONEY LIVE @ THE GLOBAL CAFE