Tuesday, September 16, 2014

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

8 comments:

  1. I LOVE Jack White! I've seen him once in the Raconteurs and twice in the Dead Weathers. The Raconteurs gig was probably the best one, but they were also doing a live recording of the show so I'm guesssing they put in a bit of extra effort because of that. I also had tickets to see the White Stripes in Glasgow, but that gig got canclled as Meg was suffering anxiety. I was so sad I didn't get out of bed that day. :( White Stripes are my favorite! He is such an incredibly talented and gifted man.

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  2. That's awesome Hilde!! I think that Kyle and I both like the Raconteurs best, but it is all so good. He is incredibly talented. :) That is so awesome that you've seen his bands so many times! So sorry about the white stripes... that is such a bummer! :( -XO

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  3. I've never seen him live but I'd love to! It looks like such an amazing gig, i'm glad you had fun :) I definitely prefer standing to sitting at gigs, it's so much easier to dance aroudd! The vune you went to is realy cool too, the ornate theatre is really pretty xx

    www.jessthetics.com

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  4. I hope that you get the chance someday soon Jess! He puts on a really great show. For me it kind of depends. If it is a festival type thing it can be nice to have seats because you are there for sooo long. :) And I don't enjoy crowding in with other people, I like my 'hula hoop space'... haha but sometimes it is really fun! I think it probably just depends on the show! (for me at least!). I was really surprised by how pretty the theater was! My grandma later told me that she and my grandpa saw Porgy and Bess there when they were pretty young and shared their first espresso during the intermission. <3 adorable! XO

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  5. What a beautiful venue! I never got the chance to visit, and am so sorry I didn't! Lily is gorgeous, too :)

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  6. What a spectacular place and it looks like it was a great time was had by all!! I would love to Jack White in concert - Ah! Maybe one day!!

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  7. Such a bummer! I had no idea it was so pretty! My shots were not that great... it was a little smoky or something in there... but when I made them black and white they looked pretty decent... haha so yay! I love her she's so cute. :) XO

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  8. Thanks for stopping by Constance! I hope that you get the chance to see him someday soon! XO -Alexandra

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