Having somebody with a musical background as prolific as blues-garage rocker, Jack White come over to Bristol feels like somewhat of a rarity and so it’s no surprise that each of the 3000 tickets sold out months in advance. The anticipation is reaching boiling point within The Prospect Building, as is the temperature in here, which at times is a little too much for the several thousand packed into the room like sardines. Advertised as a “no phones” gig beforehand you don’t see that usual glow illuminated the crowd in the lead up to it and it’s all for the better. At exactly 9pm the man himself along with his band take to the stage to triumphant cheers and a concoction of wonderfully scuzzy guitar noises during an opening jam.
Throughout the night there is an almost even split of solo material along with the visits across his extensive back catalogue. with proceedings starting off with “That’s How I’m Feeling” warming that sweaty crowd up just a little bit more. This goes straight into the gloriously spiky “Black Math” which sounds wonderfully chaotic through the speakers. We get no lavish backdrop or staging, it’s just the music and the performance doing the talking and this is probably most evident during the “No Name” highlight “Old Scratch Blues”. There’s a strange juxtaposition where it feels incredibly free flowing, yet still impeccably tight throughout the numerous extended diversions during these songs.
Things get particularly bluesy during his more recent material in the form of “Dollar Bill” as he slides along his guitar strings and he keeps the trend going during the foot stomping “Little Bird”. We stick with the old school with the wondrously bouncy “Hotel Yorba”. By this point those strong enough to embrace the humidity are bopping away in the pit. however there are a good few who are trying to catch their breath from the amount of energy which has already been generated so far.
Every guitar change on stage feels like the equivalent of a costume change at a Beyonce concert. You’re wondering, which shade of White you’re going to be getting next? There’s a surprise outing for The Raconteurs’ hit “Broken Boy Soldier” and we’re also taken right back to the beginning again with early hit “Cannon”. The latest record “Frozen Charlotte” is another solid outing of straight up rock and riffs and we are treated to a number of stops mid way through the set with “Derecho Demonico”. “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” and the spiralling “Thick As Thieves”. One of the highlights comes during “Archbishop Harold Holmes” which sees White spitting bars in front of the roaring guitars and it feels as though the whole evening has been taken up yet another notch.
We go up even further during the classic “Steady As She Goes” which has the biggest sing along yet as the crowd chant back repeatedly with “Are you steady now?” culminating in a finale which threatens to bring down the pillars holding the venue together. “Icky Thump” sounds like a galloping horse from the hounds of hell as each note hits you like a freight train. The “La, la, la, la’s” are sung back in perfect timing and it’s hard to imagine that it’s been almost 20 years since we saw the end of The White Stripes. But at least we can be thankful that we are still able to hear these songs within a live setting.
I think you would be hard pressed to find a person in the world who isn’t familiar with our set closer tonight. The song that filled indie nightclubs at first before finding new life in sports stadiums all over the world “Seven Nation Army” never gets old with that iconic no lyric chorus which chanted out louder than any words ever could. Accompanied by the rest of the band it’s brought fully to life in the venue this evening and finishes of proceedings in the only way it could. One could argue where was “Dead Leaves”, where was “Ball & Biscuit” or any other hit over the years, however looking back we have been extremely spoilt with all that we have been given. And despite the sweltering heat, Jack and his band have laid it all completely on the line for the past hour and a half. Even better that the whole experience isn’t hindered by a single phone blocking the view for anybody else. Everything is just stripped back to basics and is all the more immersive for it, so other artists, please take note, this is what we want from a gig going forward!
Photos by David James Swanson