T on the Fringe: Raconteurs @ Corn Exchange

Broken Boy Soldiers' the debut album from the Raconteurs, is an album that's easy on the ears. But, like a pretty girl who gets by on looks alone, you have to wonder if there's any real depth there. Still, a one night stand can be fun; the Raconteurs are, one the face of it, an attractive proposition. That Jack White's voice was fraying at the edges only added to the sense of revelry as they tore up the stage with stomping versions of Store Bought Bones and their LP's title track after a surprisingly lacklustre Steady As She Goes. A wraith-like White invoked all manner of weird screeches from the sky as he recreated Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) in the most rewarding performance of the evening. The bluesier elements of the album dominated the latter part of the set before an ill-conceived crowd-pleaser in Teenage Kicks made you realise just why you weren't so keen anymore. [Wilbur Kane]