The Raconteurs @ Carling Academy

The Raconteurs give a rare glimpse into the fun world of playing music in a successful band tonight, with Jack White and Brendan Benson playing off each other's riffs and laughingly singing cheek to cheek into the mic. Would you be miffed at a world class supergroup who, instead of putting on a monumental light show with costume changes and dancing girls, simply rock out like they're a gang of mates practicing in the garage? Course you wouldn't, that's a fucking good gig, dummy. To put a spanner in the gushiness; the Raconteurs unite both pop and prog into one show which they pull off incredibly well until it comes to what seems like a 90-minute version of Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang. Brows furrow. Everywhere. A wee bit indulgent, but hey, every devil horn hand sign and round of applause was well earned. [Melissa Thomson]