Dipping into his vast catalog of material from an ever growing collection of bands and projects, Jack White served up a highly enjoyable, if somewhat uneven performance on a chilly Ohio fall evening on the LC’s outdoor stage.
Drenched in moody blue lighting and backed by the all male version of his band, White opened with a powerful version of Blunderbuss single “Sixteen Saltines,” and raced from one high energy song to the next.
After the wonderful none stop opening montage of electric blues-rock, the set dropped a few notches as White donned an acoustic guitar for a few numbers, including “Love Interruption”. Thankfully the dip didn’t last long and White was back where he truly shines on the electric guitar.
For his solo tour, White has re-imagined and rearranged many of the songs that brought him to where he is today. White Stripes classics have been reworked from two-piece garage rock to a full sonic assault thanks to White’s backing band, and while the songs still have the familiar raw power of White’s guitar, the fuller sound doesn’t have the intimacy of the stripped down original versions.
“Hotel Yorba” felt especially odd, taking on a whole new amp-ed up country feel, the song mostly had me wishing I was watching Meg and Jack at their peak.
White’s backing band certainly do a fantastic job keeping pace with White, it’s reported that he doesn’t do set lists for this tour, nor do the male or female band even know if they’re playing until the day of the show and often the song arrangements are slightly different for each band. It’s impressive improvisation that’s been meticulously crafted as the band follow White with an eagle-eye for cues on the next song.
Overall this was certainly one of the best concerts to grace the LC stage this year. Even with its missteps, Jack White and his band(s) are an amazing live spectacle that play it both loose and well rehearsed in equal measures.
Matt Ellis is a freelance photographer who covers bands that visit the city and the Columbus Crew MLS team. More about Matt can be found at Matt Ellis Photography.
