All Raconteured Out

Mark it as official - The Raconteurs have played Nashville or near Nashville too much in 2008.

Too much live Jack White might seem an oxymoron, but after two warm-up shows in April and Bonnaroo, the Ryman revealed the band's limitations.

Even on the Ryman stage, they could not touch earlier shows at the Cannery Ballroom or Bonnaroo.

To the untrained eye, they came out, roared through some of their better material and saluted their adopted hometown audience. But this night, the band didn't stray far from the studio versions and rarely touched the frenetic stage presence from their summer festival stops.

Coming close to their tour's end, Brendon Benson, Jack White and company seemed to run on empty, going through the motions through a set barely passing the 90-minute mark.

Let's cut to the chase on the opener - The Kills' brand of screeching tuneless noise rock was awful. The Ryman should institute a "You must be at least this talented to play on our stage" policy after letting these two assault eardrums.

I don't know that what this duo (trio if you count their drum machine, which radiated more musical ability than the flesh-and-bone band members) spat out between cliched rock poses actually counts as music.

Of course, I believed the Raconteurs would soothe the wounds left by the opener.

They had to ... if not for their own energy issues. Lacking in spontaneity, they assembled some highlights from their two records, stitched in a swirling jam that threatened to go somewhere but dead-ended with "Rich Kid's Blues."

When they departed the stage after "Blues," just their eighth song in under an hour, people in my pew each flashed each other "Are you kidding me?" expressions.

Did the five songs they played upon returning qualify as an encore or a second set? Bringing The Kills back to play on two songs, including "Steady As She Goes," didn't earn them any favors.

But overall, the quintet brought a higher energy for the final five, with "Hold Up" and Broken Boy Soldiers" showing signs of life.

After mercifully dispatching The Kills, the Raconteurs tore into "Carolina Drama," White's excellent murder ballad, let the audience handle the closing lyric, bowed and that was it.

This show practically begged for an encore, but house lights never lie.

Maybe all the festival shows left the band gassed. Maybe Jack White already began plotting his next adventure in red-and-white color schemes.

Devoid of nearly anything dynamic, the Ryman show signaled might be time to get Meg White back to Nashville and let the Raconteurs rest till 2010.

You can read this review plus more about Nashville music at nashvillefeed.com