Dan Sartain

The Raconteurs

Ok, so it's not a great photo, but that's what happens when you're confined to the seated balcony of Brixton Academy with a camera phone and a marginal case of the DT's... Went along last Friday (20th), when Jack White, Brendan Benson and the rest of their merry men gave the Academy a serious ass-kicking. Is Jack White the only young man left who can play guitar like that? Absolutely amazing, unsurprisingly, with 'Hands' and 'Steady As She Goes' getting the crowds going absolutely nuts (even up in the cheap seats). And their cover version of Nancy Sinatra's 'Bang Bang' went on for an epic 20 minutes or so, with Jack White's scream getting increasingly desperate. They've been playing it as a cover for a few months now, and it knocks the Audiobully's version into a cocked Burberry baseball cap.

Tootsies Orchid Lounge, Nashville

This is the original sign that hung outside Tootsies Orchid Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee, now hanging in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

I'd never heard of it before I got over there, but ended up spending quite a lot of time in there after hours, slapping my thigh and getting down with some real, gritty Country and Western. It's not the polished, souless twang of Shania Twain, it's a guy with a guitar singing his heart out and making you dance around like a lunatic. Clearly, the locals weren't fooled, and knew I was just some damn Limey Johnny-come-lately, but it was great nonetheless.

It's played host to all the greats; Willie Nelson, Neil Young and even Dean Martin played there. Nowadays its mainly full of local bands hoping to make it big, but it's definitely worth checking out if you find yourself on the main drag in Nashville.

No idea of their name, but these slick characters were banging out the good stuff in Nashville after the JD Set... plenty of Cash covers, a dash of bluegrass, and a good ole' boy on the double-bass who alternated between humping it and beating the crap out of it. Proper rock 'n' roll.

Richard Hawley

Lynchberg, Tennessee

Hot Club De Paris

The Holloways

Cheeky scamps did an afternoon JD Set in Camden.