Yesterday, Best Friend and I headed up to the Motor City to see The Raconteurs. Another band that has elected to bypass our fair town on this leg of the tour. This is Jack White's first appearance in his hometown in a few years, so it was a good chance to see the band in a distant city, not too far away.

The Venue: The Fillmore. This was known as The State Theatre until Live Nation took over about a year ago. Pretty cool place, close to The Fox Theatre in the shadow of Comerica Park, where the Indians got beat again yesterday. Very mindful of the Playhouse Square venues. The big stairwells, ornate chandeliers, huge wall of concert posters, etc. But they had General Admission on the floor and the seated balcony, with a Mezzanine deck tossed in for good measure.

The Tickets: Our tickets said "Mezzanine Table", and we really had no clue what that meant, but it turned out to be a great selection. These are tables of 4 (OK, that did involve sitting with "strangers") situated directly behind the few rows of the Mezzanine. They offer a great view, you have comfy chairs and they afford the ability to stand and groove around and not block anyone. Very cool.

The Crowd: If it wasn't a sellout, it was pretty close, as this was the second of two consecutive shows in Detroit. We lucked into great parking in a lot within 500 feet of The Fillmore and the crowd was already lining up for the GA sections by 5:00, when we arrived. But this ran the gamut of young and old.

I thought the GA crowd was well-behaved. They might have been comatose during the opening act, who deserved better. But not rowdy at all during The Raconteurs set.

Opening Act: The opening act was the Black Lips. I thought they were pretty good, given the thankless position they were put in. Interesting sort of punk band from Atlanta. They did a terrific cover version of Bo Diddley's "Mona", a nice tribute. Nice energy and lots of punk styles in their presentation. Although the guitarist did spit a loogie skyward and caught it in his mouth. Seems like an odd talent to display to the masses, but...

The Sound: The sound overall was good, but there were times within our Mezzanine sandwich where some lyrics got muddied a bit. But it's Jack White on guitar, so who gives a flip?

And there was not much stage banter throughout. Although Jack had some really kind words for Detroit and I thought it was a very appreciative gesture on his part, as he had recently referred to Motown as an "iron-maiden sort of torture device". Probably in an endearing manner, I'm guessing.

The Stage: The setup was not too elaborate. Keyboards left, then Brendan Benson sporting Daltrey hair, Jack White (with a mirror on his amp as he played with his back to the audience at times), and Lawrence on bass on the right. Keeler on drums in the back. Not much extravagance as far as lighting and at the conclusion of the set, The Raconteurs' logo was displayed on the backdrop.

Fun facts to know and tell: You can still smoke in a bar in Detroit. That makes some people I know very happy. And, once again, I-75 is being reconstructed Downtown with closures as you near. Whoever holds the franchise on that road doesn't even remove the barrels anymore. It seems they keep them in the median, because they know they'll need them soon. We had to take some wacky detour after the show that takes you on 94, heading west. I took Telegraph Road back to 75, because I think I saw Chicago looming ahead.

Also, when Jack White came out for the encore, who suddenly appears? Omigod, it's Meg White and she proceeds to sit down behind the drum kit! Are we gonna witness a White Stripes reunion, even for one song? Nope, the other band members come out, Meg excuses herself and waves to the crowd as she exits stage left. Now that would have been something.

The Music: I've seen rock shows in my time, but make no mistake, this was a fucking rock show. They had some unbelievably blistering versions of their catalog, mainly from the second album, last night. Even "Steady As She Goes" turned into a chant-along and it sounded more fresh than the first time I heard it. Terrific musicianship throughout, especially on "Rich Kid's Blues". Really an awesome show.

Setlist:

I'd say maybe 17 songs, but I'm guessing here and missing several, in no particular order.

"Consoler of the Lonely"
"You Don't Understand Me"
"Rich Kid's Blues"
"Steady As She Goes"
"Blue Veins"
"The Switch and Spur"
"Carolina Drama"
"Intimate Secretary"
"Hold Up"
"You Don't Understand me"
"Old Enough"

I have decided that I would probably walk on hot coals to see Jack White in any band, even if he joined Katrina and the Waves or something equally preposterous.
I know I'm gonna have a great time when I see his bands, and that's all you can ask.

Meal of Links

25 Worthwhile Documentaries". Hey, "New York Doll" is mentioned, I thought that was terrific. And "Slasher"!

Some of TV's Best Roles from last season. "Dexter" gets some love, as does Clay Davis from "The Wire". No one says "She-e-e-e-eet!" better than him.

Yep, he's my congressman. Kucinich introduces articles of impeachment against George W. Bush, as I write.

Exercise Yard

I miss Euro 2008 for one day, and this happens? WTF?


























My fellow soccerheads convened for some viewing today of the "Group of Death". First game was a yawner, as France and Romania tied 0-0. But the second game was a result of epic proportions as the Netherlands beat Italy, 3-0. Yes, the country that produced Todd Gack absolutely pounded the Italians. Worst defeat for Italy that I can remember. Beautiful goals by the Dutch, bringing up memories of "total football". A big Orange party tonight in Bern.




Well, how do you sit wearing this outfit?














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