It takes a lot to impress people the way The Dead Weather impressed Atlanta on October 2, 2009. I heard it repeated all night as the haze of all the sound and the dazzle of the lights faded. As someone who reviews music for a living, I’ve been to a lot of concerts both big and small but seeing a band with the professionalism that the Nashville-based supergroup possessed left many stunned and inspired in an almost unprecedented way. Given that most people are more familiar with the individuals, rather than the specific collection of people that played last night, a little backstory is in order.

Jack White should really need no introduction, as the frontman for the world famous The White Stripes, Jack is known for his musicianship on guitar, pale complexion, ambitiousness, and love for a quick and dirty approach to music. After it seemed that The White Stripes were beginning to plateau at an A-list capacity, Jack surprised everyone by introducing The Raconteurs. It would have been difficult to imagine Jack in a bigger group sharing the spotlight with more people, but Jack did it with ease. With a record in 2006, then another in 2008, as guitar slinger for the Raconteurs, then introducing both a record label (Third Man Records) and another band moniker as The Dead Weather in 2009. All work and playing too has made Jack an interesting boy.

Alison Mosshart seemed always seemed a little out of place in The Kills. Hiding behind a disaffected tone never really suited her style and avoiding the audience rather than engaging it might have been born out of a healthy distrust for performance antics. To an indie rock subculture, it’s even applauded, but playing with a drum machine in the background would never suit her indefinitely as it’s painfully obvious that The Kills afforded Alison with a first class education on performance, working a crowd by doing as little as possible and songwriting. Joining The Dead Weather seems almost an inevitable escalation in retrospect.

With Jack White at the helm, bringing Jack Lawrence from The Raconteurs and Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age (and touring member of The Raconteurs) together with Alison out in front. The Dead Weather are the best template for a supergroup. Jack White being a fantastic writer, collaborator, and businessman. Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita being a (no pun intended) rock solid supporting cast. Alison finally playing venues with the kind of trappings that really lend themselves to a higher energy level and ambience controls. It allows her to really unhinge and show the world that if Karen O is going to write techno songs and mellow out, she’ll be glad to fill the role of baddest bitch in rock and roll.

The sound of the band is at once familiar and new. With very dark leanings throughout, Alison stalked the stage in a mix between a hormonal exotic animal and a zombie. She propped herself over and around every piece of equipment on stage at one point or another. It should be noted that on the songs where Jack White (mostly the drummer for The Dead Weather) did decided to pick up a guitar and sing a little out in front, Alison faded into the back almost seamlessly. It’s rare when you can have so many people on stage as cohesive as these four seemed. The lights were second to none with a hypnotic effect unlike any stage show I’ve ever seen. I’m pretty sure the band could have played with fluorescent office lights shining on them and still been impressive, but with the caliber of lighting effects they demonstrated to everyone in attendance was awed.

Jack White announced that this was their anniversary show, as the band was discussed at The Tabernacle exactly one year ago to date and the record was recorded in Nashville the very next day. Jack seemed as excited to say it as Atlanta was to hear it. Atlanta clearly was happy to have a special place in The Dead Weather’s hearts, most likely since their perfect blend of hard rock, early heavy metal, indie, and even dark wave suits our city perfectly. It’s performances like these that leave some fans speechless, others rambling, many outside by the bands bus hoping for a parting high five. But no one disappointed.