Snapshots of Jack White // August 2014

KC is a really big Jack White fan. We go to so many concerts, but Jack White has been pretty elusive... up until this year. The Buzz (our local alternative station) hosted a Jack White show at the Midland in August. We were so excited, and amazingly managed to get tickets before they sold out!

Before this summer I would have called myself a Jack White fan... but with his Lazaretto album release I became a lot more intentional with my listening.. and became a much bigger fan. Which ended up being great timing, since we later got tickets for mid-August. I think a lot of this is because I tend to prefer the Raconteurs style, to the Dead Weather style which has been a little more prominent in the past five or so years.

The venue is an old ornate theater that has been turned into the perfect place to see live music. The inside is gorgeous, full of chandeliers, marble columns and draped curtains.

The tickets were nearly all GA so we were standing, and we were luckily able to find spots at the top of the first railing, which made for an amazing view of the stage!

It was also kind of fun to be in the crowd where everyone is getting really into the music.

We usually get seats and don't have that experience. (though there are good and bad things about that. :) )

The music was incredible. I suppose that's kind of a given. But I don't think it's possible to imagine how incredible it is without actually being there. Every song, even ones I didn't know, were just flawless. His energy and his band's energy was relentless, and every song was made that much better for it. The crowd knew what they were there for, they soaked up every second, I've never seen a more energetic audience.

It's clear that these people love what they are doing. Just the fact that White was frantically calling out song names as they played, and it didn't change the quality a bit was incredible, and that much more thrilling to the audience.

For those of you who have been hearing about any of White's social media exposure might have been hearing about his 'scowl' or 'Sad Jack White Face' (referring to the look of disdain frequently photographed on his resting face, especially at baseball games), you won't find that expression in the room when he plays. He's concentrated, he's passion filled and you can even catch him smile.

Another thing buzzing around social media was his hair cut. He has looked a lot like Johnny Depp for the past 15 years... but he recently got a Elvis Presley meets undercut type of 'do. Many people were criticizing it on social media (even from a picture where you can't fully see it), claiming that he looked just like every other hipster rock group front man. Oh you fools, Jack White is only ever Jack White. He debuted this look at the Kansas City show, and I can tell you that it didn't make a bit of difference to anyone.

Before White's set began it was announced that he wanted to discourage the over use of cell phones during the performance, and would make his professional live photos available for free download and use the next day on his website. I think that's really awesome. I did take a few of my own, just to have them, but it really helped me enjoy the show more! So the pictures you see here are from his official website, and were photographed by David James Swanson.

Set list: ( * denotes personal favorites ) - set list via The Pitch.
Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes)* ( here )
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)* ( here )
High Ball Stepper 
Temporary Ground* ( here ) 
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)* ( here ) 
Weep Themselves to Sleep* ( here ) 
Missing Pieces 
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs)
Cannon (The White Stripes)
Ball and Biscuit / How Many More Times / In The Mood (John Lee Hooker)
Blunderbuss 
We're Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)
Love Interruption 
I'm Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes)
____
Icky Thump / Man On The Silver Mountain (The White Stripes)
Lazaretto* ( here )  
Astro (The White Stripes)
Sixteen Saltines 
Three Women* ( here ) 
Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Hello Operator (The White Stripes)
Would You Fight for My Love? * ( here ) 
The Hardest Button to Button / That Black Bat Licorice* / Screwdriver (The White Stripes)  
( here )
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)

Others I love that were not played: 

Old Enough (The Raconteurs) 
Hands (The Raconteurs) 
Level (The Raconteurs) 
Together (The Raconteurs) 
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs) 
Jolene (The White Stripes)
Portland Oregon - Duet with Loretta Lynn 
I'm Shakin' (Blunderbuss)
Love is Blindness (The Great Gatsby Soundtrack)
Rolling in on a Burning Tire (The Dead Weather, Eclipse Soundtrack)
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine (The White Stripes)

While the entire band is extremely talented, I now have the hugest girl crush on Lily Mae Rische, the vocalist, violinist and mandolin player of the group.

 Extreme talent.

Overall I would say that the show was incredible, definitely in my top four! - and that's including having beer spilled on me during the opening song, all the pot and watching someone pass out! :)

Have you seen Jack White live?

What is your favorite song?

All for Now,

Alexandra