Raveonettes Lose 'Control' in Chicago

Danish co-ed duo the Raveonettes performed all but two songs from their latest record, 'In and Out of Control,' at Chicago's Metro Sunday night. With blonde bombshell Sharin Foo wearing head-to-toe black clothes and high heels and Sune Rose Wagner sticking to a black-and-white striped shirt, the band -- accompanied by another guitarist and a drummer -- made 'Control' sound even better live over the course of their 75-minute set.

The shoegazey opener, 'Gone Forever,' assaulted the crowd with seizure-inducing strobes, black lights and deafening guitar riffs. The momentum waned on the slower-tempo beginning of 'Break Up Girls!' until Foo and Wagner emerged from the darkness and detonated the sound to the point where they were bent over their instruments while a red LCD screen flashed the word "fun." Foo demonstrated her multifaceted skills when she traded places with the drummer on 'Heart of Stone' and played the kit, then seduced the audience with a guitar solo on 'Oh, I Buried You Today,' which allowed her luscious voice to radiate through the bleak material. "It's great to be back in Chicago and play inside," Wagner told the audience, referring to the sweltering Lollapalooza set they played in August.

Even though songs from 'Control' were the nexus of the show, the band performed older nuggets from the rest of their discography. Drenched in distortion, the band performed 'Do You Believe Her' and 'Veronica Fever' from their debut EP, 'Whip It On.' A rocked-out version of 'Dead Sound' and the '50s-inspired 'The Beat Dies' from previous endeavor 'Lust Lust Lust' also were represented along with 'Love in a Trashcan' from 'Pretty in Black' and a stripped-down version of 'Little Animal' from 'Chain Gang of Love.'

After ending their regular set on 'Aly Walk With Me,' backed by flickering strobes and strident noises, the Raveonettes played a three-song encore that included the rock-centric 'Last Dance,' B-side 'Experiment in Black' and the upbeat 'That Great Love Song,' capping off a powerful evening at the Metro.