TORONTO - On their maiden voyage to this fair city last summer, rock outfit The Dead Weather packed the Horseshoe Tavern with an hour-long show that was loud, sweaty and oozed sleazy blues-based rock in support of their debut Horehound.

A year later the buzz isn't quite as pronounced, but that doesn't mean the group has faltered judging by an impressive 90-minute set before a near capacity crowd at Toronto's Sound Academy.

Touring behind their sophomore effort Sea Of Cowards churned out less than a year after album one, the group of Jack White (White Stripes/The Raconteurs), Allison Mosshart (The Kills), Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs) and Dean Fertita (Queens Of The Stone Age) showcased the retro-tinged blues-meets-hard rock framework from the opening notes of 60 Feet Tall.

And despite a giant eyeball behind the band (not to mention a few buffalo heads), all eyes were primarily on the diminutive Mosshart, a strutting, sultry and sassy vocalist who poured herself into several of the songs, especially Hang You From The Heavens. When not pacing the stage or taking some quick drags off a cigarette, Mosshart could be found bent over, on her knees or holding on to mic stand for dear life.

Perhaps the oddest part of the evening - aside from the fact it took six songs before anything off of Sea Of Cowards was played - was seeing White content to sit much like Meg White and pound on the drums when not singing lead or doing harmonies. Most of the guitar work was left to the very capable Fertita, yet knowing White's capabilities made it feel like several possible magical moments vanished into thin air.

White was the most talkative however, jokingly telling those from Mississauga they owed him money, those from Newfoundland owed him a pair of shoes and those from P.E.I. owed him an overdue library book prior to The Difference Between Us. This fed nicely into I'm Mad which had Mosshart steering the groove-heavy song along before a wall of guitar burst out in the bridge portion.

The second half of the 14-song main set definitely settled into a nice pattern based around the slow but steady work of White, Lawrence and Fertita on the danceable Hustle And Cuss, I Can't Hear You and particularly Die By The Drop, a tune which fares much better on stage than it does on the album.

Coming out from behind the drums just once to sing You Just Can't Win without a guitar, White finally strapped on, plugged in and went to work on the near-perfect Will There Be Enough Water? A definite show-stopper, here the chemistry between White and Mosshart was apparent as they touched heads around one microphone before he was finally let off the proverbial leash. The result was almost blissful for many of the fans who lapped up most of the earlier offerings positively.

Returning with Blue Blood Blues, Jawbreaker and Treat Me Like Your Mother before calling it an evening, The Dead Weather won over most despite seldom using their strongest weapon. And that's credit to be sure.