The Raveonettes @ Detroit Bar 3/8/08

 MARCH 8 | COSTA MESA—Tonight, the crowded Costa Mesa Detroit Bar patrons were treated to the sweetly surf-guitar-tinged sounds of The Raveonettes, one of Denmark’s finest exports.

Opening their set with new song “Hallucinations,” dual guitarists/vocalists Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo harmonized perfectly on the sun-soaked ode to new romance.

The duo was backed by a standing female drummer, who had only two drums and a drum machine, but the sounds the trio produced were impressively full and layered.

The next song they played was current single “Dead Sound,” which is a faster track that is bright and sunny yet offers a tinge of darkness. The Raveonettes performed several songs from new LPLust Lust Lust, but also threw in some favorites from the previous albums, Chain Gang of Love andPretty in Black. “That Great Love Sound” was an exciting addition to the set with its upbeat tempo and humming lyrics. They also slowed things down with “Here Comes Mary,” which sounds faintly like the Everly Brothers.

Another Pretty in Black song, “Red Tan” highlighted the set with its nice, relaxed beat. They even went farther back in their catalog to play a couple of tracks from debut EP Whip It On. Hearing “Attack of the Ghost Riders” and “My Tornado” in all their B flat minor glory showed the darker side of The Raveonettes. The newer material stood out quite well among these older songs. “The Beat Dies,” for instance, features Sharin’s dreamy vocals against a lushly beautiful backdrop of sound.

“Black Satin” is another one of those songs that makes you think the latest album was written on a sunny beach. The Raveonettes picked up the pace on “You Want the Candy,” a fast, fun song that you might not expect to be about drug use. Another live staple was the rockabilly twang of “Love in a Trashcan,” always a fun addition to their set. A cover of Stereolab’s “French Disko” was a very cool way to show off the band’s wide range of influences.

The Raveonettes ended the set with the darkly toned “Aly, Walk With Me,” a song which demonstrates their ability to produce feedback and noise using the palms of their hands over their guitar strings. Though they left us wanting more, there was no encore. Be Your Own Pet opened the show with their raucous punk rock music. The young band from Tennessee managed to excite the crowd with their off-kilter vocals and punky guitar riffs. They provided a stark contrast from the more controlled and melodic sound of The Raveonettes, but it was an interesting choice for an opener.

For more photos of the Detroit Bar show, see The Scenestar’s Raveonettes photo gallery.