Live Review: The Dead Weather

The Dead Weather
The Fillmore
4.15.10
San Francisco, CA

There are shows, and then there are shows. The Dead Weather Thursday night was a show. In fact it was a fucking show - it was that good. Having missed them last summer at Outside Lands, our crew was eager to hear the dirty, skuzz rock blues of their debut album Horehound at full amplification. The band did not disappoint, and even played a handful of new songs from the upcoming Sea of Cowards album coming out on May 11^th.

Frontwoman Alison Mosshart is a force to be reckoned with as she stalked the stage with a vengeance, brimming with confidence. This is saying something considering she is prowling the same stage with Jack White, who has the ability to quickly overshadow musicians who share the stage with him. Keyboardist/guitarist Dean Fertita and Bassist Jack Lawerence more than held their own as well. In fact, I’ll go on record and say this is the first band I’ve seen Jack White in that is truly the sum of its parts. 

And in my best Jeff Spicoli voice, I’ll say this band slays live bro.

With a dimly lit stage, the band let the music do the talking and the songs pretty much cold-cocked the crowd. Beginning with the scrapes of White’s drum sticks along the rim of his snare drum, the band let off a few warning shots with the loud/soft dynamics of “60 Feet Tall” and let the amp buzz build the rest of the night. The new songs are even heavier and darker, particularly “Die by the Drop”, “Hussle and Cuss” and “Blue Blood Blues”.

A solid year of touring has sharpened the band musically. Jack White played some thunderous drum rolls while Dean Fertita peeled off sick guitar riff after sick guitar riff from his white hollow body Falcon. Mosshart is the femme fatale, luring you in seductively and then ripping your heart out of your rib cage with her bare hands.

Easily the show of the year and we aren’t even halfway through 2010. 

Setlist:

60 ft tall
Hang you from the heavens
You Just Can’t Win
So Far From Your Weapon
No Horse
Child of a Few Hours
Die By the Drop
Blue Blood Blues
I Can’t Hear  You

Hussle and Cuss

Rocking Horse
Will There Be Enough Water

-Encore-
I Cut Like a Buffalo
New Pony
Treat Me Like Your Mother