The Von Bondies, new darlings of the evolving Detroit music scene, have one advantage over their retro-cool compatriots. They know that sex sells. So as singer Jason Stollsteimer engages in an eyeballing competition with the front row, his intensity only marginally diluted by the sweat-drenched hair stuck to his face, guitarist Marcie Bolen and bass player Carrie Smith slink over to the drum riser. Instruments in hands, ponytails swinging, they stand back to back, slowly shimmying against one another, their eyes flitting from their guitars to the crowd. We know they're playing with us and they know we like it.
Specialising in tender melodies hidden within explosions of sound, featuring Chuck Berry guitar riffs and Stooges fury (but without the pantomime theatrics of either), the Von Bondies slowly build their audience up to a frenzy then feed off it. From the Who-like crash and jingle-jangle of Lack of Communication to the full-blown, squealing loveliness of Cryin', with its insistent rhythm and swaying bass, the band carefully add momentum to each dizzying song.
Stollsteimer's voice only strays into White Stripes territory once, for the sharp and twisted Nite Train. Instead he sticks to a low, hollow murmur that is part preacher, part devil, suiting both his sober black jacket and the guitar's razor-sharp chords.
Drummer Don Blum shies away from unrelenting force, choosing breaks and rolls with a surprising delicacy that allows the music to sound chaotic but unhurried. Smith's bass lines, like Bolen's guitar parts, are simple and repetitive, gnawing away at the drums. Despite the energy of the sounds swirling around them, both women remain haughty, ice queens at the heart of the scorching sound, their backing vocals sweet but sneering.
The attitudes are dropped for a bit of light handclapping during Save My Life, the clipped rhythm of Blum's drums complementing Smith's churning bass. Just as the song dwindles to a few sparse bass notes, the guitars spring into ear-splitting life again and the Von Bondies toy with us once more.
