The Raconteurs

When it was announced that the Raconteurs would be playing the Commodore Ballroom, a small venue relative to those usually frequented by Jack White, people scrambled to the closest box office and many were too late. The boys chose, maybe purposefully, a rather interesting day and place to open their tour: Vancouver on one of the city’s favourite days: 4/20. Shortly after taking the stage Brendan Benson leaned towards his microphone (which closely resembled his tall and thin stature) and a smirk crept across his face distorting his handsome features, "What day is it? April 20th?” he turned to White and chuckled, "It sure smells like it.” With that said, the cloud of smoke that hung over the audience grew and the tone was set for the night. The boys threw themselves into every song full force, pulling out guitar solos and melodies that would resonate in the ears of everyone present for hours after. Perhaps the most anticipated song of the night was one of their new tracks titled "Carolina Drama,” in which White tells a story of murder and betrayal through the eyes of a young man named Billy. The crowd sang along throughout and nearly overpowered White in the last lines of the song. Bassist Jack Lawrence and percussionist Patrick Keeler worked together to create a tight backdrop for Benson and White to bend and contort with alterations of riffs and the strange sounds produced by multiple little boxes balanced precariously on an amplifier near by. As the night drew to a close, Keeler climbed out from behind his drums and the four men stood side by side, the crowd left with the resounding feeling of "until next time.”