For our birthday's last year, Mike and I received tickets to Jack White's show, from his parents, and we finally got to use them Wednesday night.
I'm not going to blab too much - just let the photos do most of the talking.
PLEASE NOTE:
All photos were taken by Jack White's personal photographers and available for viewing via Jack White's website under live shows. (My seats were not this amazing and I can't take credit for a single photo in this post).
At the beginning of the show the announcer instructed all of us to relax, and enjoy the show, without our phones. He stated that he understood we'd love to have keepsakes, or our own, but you miss the big picture when you're busy staring at a small screen. In order to keep us all happy, he let us know that Jack had hired his own personal photographers to capture the night for us, and that all the photos would be available the next day. And in turn we were free to use them and share them however our hearts desired! This is something Jack must do at all his shows, as well as ones he hosts at Third Man Records. We had a similar pep talk before the Mudhoney show we went to a year ago, and that is why I didn't have any photographic evidence of that either. And I'm ok with that.
And Evening With Jack White + Loretta Lynn
1.28.2015 • Nashville, Tennessee
ONE//
His opening act was the one and only Loretta Lynn. I am a huge, classic country fan (most of the new stuff is absolutely CRAP, yeah I said it). Her set was refreshing, very down to earth, sweet and so enjoyable. She came out in a beautiful ball gown, she was polite (even after having to blow her nose a few times for which she apologized, a lot), she was poised, and talked to the crowd the entire time. Often she would say "Yell out what you want to hear sweetie, and I'll sing it." Once a fan would yell, the band would start up a tune. I am really, really thrilled that I was able to see her. It was a joy to hear "Coal Miners Daughter" live.
TWO//
Jack White and his band came out swinging and NEVER slowed down!!! I was floored by their energy, and the sound was ON POINT! And LOUD!!!
All Photos Courtesy of Jack White's Website
 |
Could he look any more amazing? I loved his suit!
I loved the vintage vibe of EVERYTHING on the stage.
(Please appreciate the old television behind his head in the image below, more on this in a bit).
It's hard to see in this photo but this entire stand up bass was mirrored. VERY reflective and gave off an almost "invisible" vibe when he turned with it. SO stinking cool!
Below: The entire band switched to different instruments from time to time. Jack even played the piano for a song. The use of fiddles in rock n' roll was fresh, not the standard, Southern Rock vibe, and not entirely "folk driven" like so much that's on the airwaves today - the blended really well, like they were meant to be there in the song, but yet still stood out enough that you thought, Wow, that's so cool!
I couldn't see the detail of the drum set from the angle we were sitting - and because there were NO big screens for this show (his drummer was set off to the left hand side of the stage instead of front and center, which was awesome. Being able to see him JUMP UP and down while playing was truly a sight! I dig the anatomical ear on the front of the main drum.
THREE//
After the first set (about an hour into the show) Jack and the band took a break, pulled the curtain and gave the crew time to set the stage back up for the 2nd half of the show. Before the curtain lifted, his announcer came back out and introduced not only Jack, but also The Raconteurs! I was SO excited and floored. I didn't expect his other band to even be near the Bridgestone Arena - getting to hear them do 3 songs together was AWESOME! [As you can see he's all about not only giving you a great show musically but that the visual is just as important, for this set the lighting transformed the stage to be a much warmer, golden color. I love, love, love his attention to detail).
FOUR//
His set design was on point. Very mod, had a very 60's vibe to it, and his Powder blue suit complemented it so well! This man has an amazing eye for detail, and I love it! Remember that TV I mentioned above, and in the photo above this??? Well...
*** It totally reminded me of the scene from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, where TV Stevie gets zapped into the television and made smaller. ***
 |
| "Look Ma, I'm on Television!!!" • via |
FIVE//
Not only was Jack joined by the other members of The Raconteurs, but Loretta came back out to sing their duet "Portland, Oregon". They were so sweet together and you could completely tell how much he truly looks up to Loretta, and respects her. He told a sweet, fun story about the first time he called her on the phone to discuss recording, and how she disguised her voice on the phone. She giggled and gave him grief. During her set, she said he couldn't sing a lick, and it was rather comical.
Side Note: I think that having Loretta open the show was a special treat just for the Nashville, his 2nd Home Town. I'm really glad we got to witness this!
Side Note: I think that having Loretta open the show was a special treat just for the Nashville, his 2nd Home Town. I'm really glad we got to witness this!
FIVE //
I literally think I smiled the ENTIRE time I watched this show. Jack's energy and his entire band's energy was nothing short of amazing!
SIX //
Jack finished off the night with a more recent, White Stripes favorite. "Seven Nation Army". The whole arena literally sounded a lot like a College Football stadium game. Everyone chanting the "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhhh" together was MOVING and ugh, so, so good. At one point the entire band silenced themselves and let us sing it together.
SEVEN//
The night wasn't just about them being on stage, Jack and his band were hell bent on making sure that we all enjoyed ourselves and that we wanted more. He asked us quite a bit... "Are you all still with me?" "Are you doing ok?" "Do you want more?" It reminded me of something that Johnny Cash, Elvis, or maybe even James Brown might do with their audiences back in the day. Mike also commented that the stage set to him, really reminded him of old school performances by Johnny, on variety shows.
Speaking of Elvis and Johnny, can we appreciate these images below, and see where the Cash and King resemblance is strong? Maybe it's the hair, or the clothing or the stance, but either way, it's there. The music might be different but we can agree that all three were and are definitely pioneers of music in their time. And incase you can't see it - yes he's wearing white, leather shoes with his powder blue pants (and jacket) and a black shirt. The evening's color was mostly BLUE. I like that he's very into black, and one signature color. (Usually yellow, blue or red - primarily speaking) ;)
Anyone that says ROCK N' ROLL is dead, has never been to a Jack White show! If you are even remotely into his music, do yourself a favor and GO. Run to the box office and get yourself a ticket! You will NOT be sorry!
Definitely a birthday gift that was WELL worth waiting for. I was running on less than 5 hours of sleep yesterday but I'm finally feeling human again today!!!
