“Haven’t seen the sun in weeks, my skin is getting pale,” sang Brendan Benson, lead singer of the Raconteurs, for the first line of their opening song Friday night. The crowd’s reaction was excited, but not all too enthusiastic, setting the tone for the rest of the evening at WaMu Theater.

Although Jack White, who sings some songs and plays guitar, is the main reason that this band has attracted attention, it was Benson that stole the show. His singing was consistently pleasant and even had the tame crowd singing along.

White, however, seemed to lack the energy that typically characterizes the shows of both the Raconteurs and his more famous band, the White Stripes. He didn’t even try to hit the higher notes on many of his songs and often sounded as though he was about to cough up a lung.

The band responded to the crowd’s lack of enthusiasm, playing less than an hour before exiting the stage. The audience’s cheers for an encore were skimpy but persistent and after what seemed like five minutes the band returned to the stage.

“We were about to get back on the bus,” White said to the crowd, calling them out on their weak applause. After that, the audience seemed to gain a little life. The “la-la-la-la”s could be heard throughout the venue as they sang along to the obvious favorite, Carolina Drama.

After the encore, the show was still short and there was a note of disappointment from both the crowd and the band as the light came back on and everyone made their exit.