The White Stripes Live in New York
Jack and Meg White Perform at Madison Square Gardens, July 24, 2007
Hipsters, indie-kids, and rock n' roll fans of all ages packed into New York's Madison Square Garden. At just after 10pm, Jack and Meg White, collectively The White Stripes, took the stage and opened with a searing version of "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground" off their 2001 breakthrough, White Blood Cells. The first handful of songs blazed by, focusing on early career ditties like "When I Hear My Name" and a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," which has become a staple of the duo's live act.
When the Stripes finally delved into their new album, Icky Thump, the arena had settled into a comfortable groove. They cracked open the new material with the album's self-titled first single. The song found Jack taking turns on electric guitar and an ancient synthesizer that sounded like a pinball machine going through labor pains. What it gave birth to was a great classic rock guitar flourish and one of the best numbers of the night.
Opening Acts
The late starting time was due to the not one, but two opening acts that preceded the White Stripes. First, Porter Wagoner featuring Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives kicked off the evening with some self-described "hillbilly music." Following this crowd-pleasing jamboree, Grinderman took the stage. An incarnation of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Grinderman pumped out the moody, sometimes bizarre jams while looking something like a group of vagrants. Nonetheless, they thoroughly tore it up, with a highlight being the haunting "When My Love Comes Down."
Thumping Out New Material
But back to the Stripes. Once the lid was popped on Icky Thump there was no turning back, and the band went on to pepper the rest of their set with some of the album's best songs. An excellent "A Martyr For My Love For You," with Jack and Meg slowly letting the tension build to the song's climactic title proclamation, possibly took the cake. There were however, a couple noticeable absences. Two of Thump's top tracks, "Conquest" and "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn" rely heavily on guest musicians, a trumpeter and a bagpiper respectively. Both songs were left off Tuesday's set list.
Nothing Too Fancy
Jack White spent the evening jerking about the stage, cranking out licks while singing into various strategically placed microphones. Meg sat stoically at her drum set, leaving it only once for her, "lead vocal debut at Madison Square Garden," a slightly off-kilter rendition of "In the Cold, Cold Night," during which she also took a turn on the piano. Throughout this mid-set number, Jack crouched behind Meg's vacated drum kit, supplying out-of-sight accompaniment on guitar.
It is little surprise that the famously minimalist Stripes opted for no big screen display, nor light show to wow their fans during the concert. Instead, all attention was on the duo, their music, and their shadows, which were projected larger-than-life on a red screen behind the stage. Beyond this, only the bright blue glow sticks thrown about the arena by audience members affected the mood. When one would land on stage, a roadie, complete with dapper suit and hat, would promptly remove it. Jack never missed a beat.
A World Safe For Rock N' Roll
The White Stripes popped onto the scene in the early aughts, saving the world from nu-metal just as Nirvana saved the world from hair metal a decade earlier. At the end of a nearly two hour set, Jack White thanked his fans with complete sincerity, and the unmitigated delight in his voice made it clear - this is one rock n' roller who savors being a savior.
