THE RACONTEURS///
@ ROSELAND BALLROOM, NYC///
9.25.06///
TEXT: CAMERON COOK///
PHOTOS: ABBEY BRADEN///

Having seen the Raconteurs at last weekend's V Festival in Balimore--and barely paying attention due to stage distance and having to constantly employ my smelly-hippy-deflecting skills--it was more than a pleasure to be able to check out the band last night at New York's Roseland Ballroom. There are so many things to note about the Rac's I almost don't know where to begin, though the most logical starting point would be Jack and Brendan's playful, almost giddy relationship onstage, whether it be sharing the mic, flashing each other smile after smile, or dueting on almost every song. Jack's image is so overpowering at times, it's hard to not forget that Brendan is even part of the band until the spotlight shines only on him, like during the bittersweet mid-tempo "Together", which got more than one fan swaying.

The Raconteurs pulled tricks out of their collective sleeve all night long. A blistering cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang" came out of nowhere mid-set, and singles "Steady as She Goes" (as an encore) and "Hands" gave the impression that such things as music videos and radio airplay were beneath them. The highlight, though, was a chugging, slow-motion bluesy reendition of "Store-Bought Bones" suddenly brought to a feverish punk-groove freak-out near the three minute mark, where the organ riff kicked in an everyone's minds were blown clean across the room. Epic. All doubts about Raconteurs just being Jack's "other" band are completely eradicated. This is the real deal.