The Raconteurs deafen Washington D.C. (what?)

Two of the strongest recommendations I received of places I needed to see while I was in Washington DC last week were The 9:30 Club and The Black Cat. The latter was partially accomplished on Friday night when I found myself at the downstairs part of the club, Red Room. No live music at The Black Cat that night, but Red Room has the best jukebox I’ve ever seen in a venue. I spent many dollars.

The 9:30 opportunity presented itself earlier in the week, when after the conference meet & greet, I found myself with not much to do around 7:30pm. Never one to sit when I could listen to something good, I cabbed it over to the sold-out show at The 9:30 and bought a ticket off some guy standing outside looking vaguely lost and somewhat interested in selling the ticket he clutched in his hand. I think he’d been stood up. I wanted to apologize on behalf of whomever’d done it, but gave him a few crisp bills instead and was on my way into the mysteriously completely unmarked door.

After missing most of the Black Lips’ set, I got a spot up near to the front in a location so close to the speakers that my clothes literally vibrated with each thrum of the bass and kick of the drum. After their fedora’d roadie crew set the stage, The Raconteurs sauntered on a bit before 10pm. The last time I’d seen them was in the overwhelmingly huge chaos of Coachella, but in this concentrated and intimate setting their music scorched and flayed each of us. The riffs were excoriatingly raw but tight, their songs were all blues grit and swagger, and they looked like they were having quite a bit of fun.

WATCH: STEADY AS SHE GOES


LISTEN:
The Raconteurs Live at the 9:30 Club (May 27, 2008)

SETLIST
Consolers of the Lonely
Hold Up
Level
Keep It Clean
Top Yourself
Switch and the Spur
You Don’t Understand Me
Rich Kid Blues
Yellow Sun (rockin’ version)
Attention
Steady As She Goes
Blue Veins

ENCORE
Shades of Black
Intimate Secretary
The Stones Will Shout
Salute Your Solution
Carolina Drama

[you can stream it on NPR]