Thursday, November 26, 2009

Forecast of death

The Dead Weather must have been one of the most hotly anticipated bands to perform at Bluesfest. They only formed in January of this year and officially released their debut, Horehound, a mere five days before this gig. Jack White, of the much-admired White Stripes, is the main draw. He started writing songs with Allison Mosshart of The Kills and hey presto, six months later here they are in Ottawa in front of a big crowd - and not one that came for the evenings headliners, either, as far as I could tell. They actually reminded me a lot more of The Kills than The White Stripes, which goes to show how key the vocals are for twigging memories.

No, this isn't White - it's one of his nattily dressed road crew doing a pre-show drum setup.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

White may get the press, but Allison is the real centre of attention.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Clapping action, plus Dean Fertita of Queens Of The Stone Age and Waxwings, too!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Mosshart certainly knows how to handle a microphone.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

And let us not forget Jack Lawrence of The Greenhornes and Raconteurs, White's other, other band.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

More Dean! Like everyone else in this band, it's nothing but white Gretschs

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

More Allison!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Rhythm section action! I promise a decent White picture is coming ...

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Allison takes a stand!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Lawrence sings!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Dean sings!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

It wasn't easy getting a picture of White at his kit ...

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Singalong action!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Allison breaks out the guitar.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

Jack steps out from behind the drums for a tune or two.

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

And so on!

The Dead Weather at Ottawa Bluesfest 2009

I enjoyed, but had a hankering for some Dave Alvin, so about 25 minutes into their set I wandered over to the Subway Stage.

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