When Jack White joined his first group, Goober & The Peas, playing drums was just part of the gig. They dressed like Grand Ole Opry cowboys, so he was forced to wear the whole Hank Williams getup, from the Nudie suit to the 10-gallon hat. It wasn’t an easy fit for a kid from Detroit. But White soon realised that the band were getting noticed purely because they’d swapped out the predominant uniform of jeans and T-shirt. At that point in the early ’90s he learned that, even through something as innocuous as an outfit, he could decide what message he wanted to project.
Of course that lesson bled into things like the White Stripes‘ striking red, white, and black palette; the yellow and black colour scheme of his Third Man Records, stretching from the walls to the distinctive staff outfits; the highly stylised, but ever-evolving, blue look of his solo career; and, unsurprisingly, tonight’s impeccably crafted show. It’s there in the velvet drapes that rise up once the musicians have already started playing the hard grooving Taking Me Back. It’s in the III adorning the foot and floor of the raised stage. It’s in the images on screen, from animated moonlit tree to live footage styled like retro Blue Note album covers. It’s in the lifesize Ukulele Man, copied from a 1940s chalkware statue, that stands behind White like a member of the band. It’s in the colour-coordinated guitars, neatly displayed in racks. It’s even in his shocking-blue hair and “full Cleveland” fashion choice (white shoes and belt).
Such emphasis on the visual, plus some of the colourful details surrounding White’s offstage life — from his love of taxidermy and vintage analogue equipment to his sideline in upholstery — can sometimes obscure his talents as a singer/guitarist/songwriter/bandleader/showman. But all are on full display during his second successive night at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo. Joined by Dominic Davis on bass and backing vocals, drummer Daru Jones, and keyboard player Quincy McCrary, he shreds, points, shimmies, yelps, roars, croons, riffs, and struts his way through a set that shows off his evolution as a creative force.
Clearly writing the setlist as he goes — as evidenced by the quick between-song huddles and the fact that almost two-thirds of the songs are different to last night’s — White’s selection goes all the way from The White Stripes’ self-titled debut to an album that’s not even out yet: Entering Heaven Alive, due next month. So, from the early 2000s, we get the likes of uncompromising garage stomp Cannon, the deceptively simple riffing of Hello Operator, and folksy hoedown Hotel Yorba (still as irrepressible as ever) progressing towards the shapeshifting Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground (which has White playing piano and guitar simultaneously), nuanced 12-bar blues epic Ball And Biscuit, brilliantly bombastic soul-shaker Blue Orchid (with that impossible falsetto), and ever-potent Catch Hell Blues (which has White showing off all his nuance as a guitarist).
The selections from the solo years continue to reveal that progression from two-chord king to sonic explorer. His visceral take on U2’s Love Is Blindness (the B-side to Sixteen Saltines) still does what the best cover versions share: honouring the original while completely personalising it. Blunderbuss, less country than the studio version, adds a delicate touch to the night; the skittish Freedom At 21 lets White flex his fingers and voice; That Black Bat Licorice is all about hip-hop attitude, unexpected guitar tones, and sudden changes that rely on the telepathic connection between all four musicians; and Over And Over And Over throws a hint of retro soul into a fuzz-rock freakout.
Released in April and well represented tonight, Fear of the Dawn furthers the trajectory. Supremely confident set opener Taking Me Back leads into the equally unstoppable title track (big on groove, big on six-string histrionics), while The White Raven ups the tempo, vocal intensity, and diversity in guitar tones even further. Even without Q-Tip’s guest vocal, Hi-De-Ho bounces unlike anything else in White’s catalogue, and provides the perfect bridge between the grittier stuff and If I Die Tomorrow, an acoustic-based slice of optimism from the upcoming album.
It’s a rare moment of calm during a show that never loses momentum — to the extent that White may fill the space between songs with reverb or sustain as he switches guitars or decides what to play next. So by the time the encore barrels around, the frontman doesn’t even need to bother with his shouts of “yeah, yeah, yeah” while clapping his hands above his head. As soon as Fell In Love With A Girl begins, the audience know exactly what to do: lose their collective minds once again. We’re Going To Be Friends, dedicated to all the people he met at Third Man in London earlier today, is less intense, but almost no quieter from an audience not distracted by their phones.
Nevertheless, neither classic by The White Stripes is a match for the finale. As a tiger prowls across the screen behind the band and that neanderthal bassline kicks in, Hammersmith Apollo erupts. It’s Seven Nation Army, of course, performed with no less swing, enthusiasm, and flair than it was back in 2003. The only difference, perhaps, is that almost 20 years later, absolutely everybody in the venue knows the words and shouts them back at White as if they never want the song to end.
Jack White
Eventim Apollo, London
28th June 2022
Photo: David Swanson
- This article originally appeared on Louder Than War.
