The Dead Weather – Live At The Mayan, Los Angeles

The Third Man Records Vault is one of my guilty pleasures. I pay them $60 every three months and I get limited edition packages of Third Man Records artists four times a year. That means I get a lot of Jack White stuff and I can live with that.

Live at the Mayan, Los Angeles is part of Third Man Records Vault release #32. It is a live recording of The Dead Weather from 8-26-09 and the band is absolutely on point.

If you are not familiar with The Dead Weather, imagine if the sand paper section of the hardware store decided to form a rock band. But, it’s not sand paper from just any hardware store; no, it is the sand paper section designed only for high-end exotic vintage hard woods that is sold at the hardware store in the West End next to the Whole Foods.

The Dead Weather walk a fine line between being mainstream cool and being too far out there for most people. There is a 70s garage fuzz rock base to their sound that draws most listeners in and that is what the majority of Live at the Mayan, Los Angeles is filled with. However, they get a little spacey at times.

Live at the Mayan, Los Angeles is not a sing-a-long rock album; it is not a headbanging rock album; it is a rock album that has a groove that ebbs and flows without being jarring.

I love how the album begins. Jack White says to the crowd “Come on L.A. Put your Blackberrys down for five fucking minutes.” Some things never change.