Back in June, before The Dead Weather dropped their excellent debut Horehound, our writer Matt Hickey saw the band in London on their lightning quick European tour. Then, he wrote:

"They returned for a three song encore that included lead single ‘Hang You From The Heavens,’ which elicited a predictably raucous response from the crowd... White and Mosshart’s presence was the main factor, but it’s still impressive to see a crowd hanging on every note of band whose music is still largely a mystery and speaks to quality of songs and their delivery. The set barely dropped in intensity over sixty minutes and elevated the band well above a mere curiosity. The record will certainly be something worth listening to, with ‘Forever My Queen’ a highlight amongst a set of sultry garage blues music from this supergroup of sorts."

Then when we spoke to Dan Boeckner from Handsome Furs/Wolf Parade during the year he corroborated with Hickey's assessment, after having then just shared a bill with White's new group:

"I never heard the album - I guess it just came out while we were on tour but man, they were fantastic. Live it was incredible. Like a cross between the MC5 and just some great, scuzzy soul music it was really impressive."

Nice. So when Horehound finally landed on shelves in August, it was - unsurprisingly, considering his track record - a more than worthy addition to the Jack White discography. Reviewer Tom Hawking even said that, "The Dead Weather equates to the sum of parts, if not more".

White's been here before of course, many times with the White Stripes (including one date when they played at Melbourne's tiny Empress Hotel. I was at a pub down the other end of the street that night not wanting to pay the $10 entry fee to see "some American band" - *slaps head*) though never with the Raconteurs (aka Saboteurs in Australia...zzz). The band are playing just five shows here. So far. And before you go Googling no, the dates don't match up with Golden Plains. *frowny face*

Tickets go on sale 9am Tuesday 24 November

THE DEAD WEATHER - Australia, March 2010

Friday 19 March - Forum Theatre, Melbourne - 18+
Tuesday 23 March - The Tivoli, Brisbane - 18+
Friday 26 March - Enmore Theatre, Sydney - All Ages
Monday 29 March - Metro City, Perth - 18+

www.ticketek.com.au