Kia ora! This post is for paying subscribers who allow me to buy concert tickets and write about those shows in an unbiased way. If you’d like to support my lil newsletter and sign up for the full Boiler Room experience, I’m running a 20% off special until the end of December. You can access that here. Thanks for being here.
He arrived on stage like he’d just stuck his finger in a power socket. He kicked, he thrashed, he hopped, he yelped. He strangled his many guitars like he meant them harm. He played each song like it might be the last time, like it might be his last time. He performed like he had a point to prove and he had nothing left to lose.
After each song, he turned to the back of the stage, brushed his hair back, then prepared to do it again. He told the crowd: “I don’t want to go. I never want to go.” He played like a man possessed, which is fitting as Jack White doesn’t look like he’s ever seen a beach; with dank locks hanging over his pale face, his vibe remains ‘terrifying villain from The Ring movie’.
In front of a sold out Powerstation crowd, Jack White ascended. His first guitar solo came about 10 seconds in, a cascade of noise that tumbled around then erupted into the bluesy howl of ‘Old Scratch Blues’. That frenetic pace never let up. Jack White made his guitars make noises I’d never heard before. Sometimes he did the same thing with his voice.
It was a night of very few cellphones, an up for it crowd and approximately 60% guitar solos. They came during songs from The White Stripes, songs from The Dead Weather, songs from The Raconteurs, and songs from his solo stuff. All of them were different, varied, and masterful, played like someone was about to pull his plug out. All of them ruled.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Boiler Room with Chris Schulz. to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.