Live Review: The Raconteurs at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, August 21, 2019

The reformed and reenergized foursome has recorded an intense and accessible new album, Help Me Stranger. After a one-two punch of Broken Boy Soldiers (2006) and Consolers of the Lonely (2008), the Raconteurs paused for 11 years before this new release. Obviously, Jack White never sleeps, and with The White Stripes, solo albums, and running Third Man Records, he’s been busy. Brendan Benson, who along with White plays guitar and sings, has been releasing solo music and producing. Bassist “Little” Jack Lawrence has been around playing with many acts over the past couple of decades, including White’s other project, The Dead Weather. Drummer Patrick Keeler rounds out the band and has also been touring with Greg Dulli’s Afghan Whigs.

As the show began on the first of a two-night stint at the Tabernacle, White jumped on the stage monitor and waved up the crowd, creating a frenzied atmosphere. The band lit the fuse on the show with “Bored and Razed,” a ferocious barnstormer of a song. It was a loud affair, reminiscent of that time Mogwai played Center Stage in 2011. Bleeding ears all around.

The setlist was all about the Raconteurs – no White Stripes, no Dead Weather, no solo stuff. If anything, White is committed to promoting this band, and there’s plenty of good music to create a great concert.  When the dust settled, the uninformed had a new favorite band, likely logging on and buying whatever Raconteurs music they did not have.

For more info on the band, head to their website.