The Raveonettes: Chicago 3/18/08

Good things come in threes- such as The Raveonettes’ new record, Lust Lust Lust. When I talked to Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes in December, he told me how appealing a three-piece band looks on stage. He wasn’t kidding- as the new bare-bones approach to the stage was only one of the aesthetic pleasures that the Danish duo brought to Chicago’s Double Door last Tuesday.

From Wagner and bandmate Sharin Foo’s matching Fender Twin Reverb amps that have the words “Rave” and “On” painted onto them (a Buddy Holly reference that their name attributes to), their black and white ensembles, and their guest drummer playing on a three piece drum set (which consisted of a tom, snare, and cymbal reminiscent to The Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker), The Raveonettes put on a loud and pleasant show.

The duo opened with “Hallucinations,” a track from Lust Lust Lust, and dived into material from their past records, which were played with a full band in the past. To compensate, they used a click-track. As cheesy as it sounds, it was quite fitting. I couldn’t imagine adding another person to the stage to have him or her play the bass parts on what sounds like a keyboard. They saved the newer tracks for later on in the set, had one encore, and left. They were polite, and I got home at a reasonable hour. Now if only more bands could follow by example, I’d be set.

-Kristine Capua