The Raconteurs: Live at Montreux DVD

Updated:

February 5, 2013 1:44 pm

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Videos by American Songwriter

The Raconteurs
Live at Montreux DVD
(Eagle Rock)
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The sign behind the band may say Montreux Jazz, but this jazz-free, short lived Jack White project rocks hard on its first, and likely only, officially released concert video. The four piece added keyboards for this 2008 tour to support its second album, which adds heft to their bluesy pop/rock attack.

Brendan Benson co-writes the original material and shares frontman/guitarist duties, but it’s White’s undeniable, often unpredictable stage presence that pushes this performance from pretty good to pretty great. Songs such as “Blue Veins” and Terry Reid’s “Rich Kid Blues” are expanded to twice and three times their studio versions, becoming knockout showstoppers to this already tough set and highlighting White’s infatuation with the blues. Despite its side-project origins, this band is as tight, taut and rehearsed as anyone else’s full time gig. Now, where’s the Dead Weather video?