by Marshall Gibson

Created on: May 03, 2008   Last Updated: May 04, 2008

This 2008 show was more structured than their first tour, mainly because they only had ten songs the first time around. On the first tour in 2006, they filled out the show with several covers, sampling the likes of David Bowie and Nancy Sinatra. With the 2008 tour, they stuck to their own material playing every track from the new album (Consolers of the Lonely) along with four songs from the first album (Broken Boy Soldiers). They performed every song from the new album, which was a surprise. I wasn't expecting to hear "Carolina Drama" as that particular song seems too personally sentimental to Jack White.

The sound quality in the "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel was decent. It wasn't crappy, but it wasn't fantastic either. I've heard far better sound in outdoor venues. One would figure that the Morgans Hotel Group would spend the extra mile for superior sound to complete the ensemble of guitar-draped walls.

Since this was a Vegas casino on the strip, the audience represented an eclectic mix from the usual emo children found in Seattle to young preppy women in cocktail dresses and heels. Also, the Raconteurs draw a wider, more mature audience due to their pop-flavored rock as opposed to the gritty garage noise performed by the White Stripes (admired mainly by teenagers).

The Racs added a fifth member to onstage; this guy stayed mostly on the keyboards but picked up an electric violin for "Old Enough". Jack White played all the acoustic parts and switched to piano for "You Don't Understand Me". Branden rocked his Les Paul through the entire show. A bit disappointing was synthesizing unusual instrumentals such as the wah riff in "Hold Up", the trumpet riff in "The Switch and the Spur", and the horn harmonies in "Many Shades of Black". I was expecting an onstage trumpeteur supporting the Raconteurs.

The show's highlight was a super-extended psychedelic jam version of "Blue Veins". They had a long slow intro with Jack Lawrence repeating the first two bass notes accompanied by random fuzz and chanting. For the bridge, the rest of the group retreated as Jack White completely freaked out on his whammy pedal; it was awesome.

Jack White seems compelled to briefly acknowledge the audience towards the end of every concert. Since this was Vegas, he gave the following advice: "When you're pissed off from losing $300 at the blackjack table, just remember that money is for spending. If you want to feel better, go hug somebody. And if that doesn't work, break a window on your way out of the casino."

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