Jack White- The Eagles Ballroom, 7/21/14

photo courtesy of Jack White; photo by David James Swanson

Jack White is an artist who I've admired for a long time, but never have had the opportunity to see live prior to last night's sold-out show at the Eagles Ballroom. During the rise of the White Stripes, my musical interest leaned more towards jam-band acts, and while I had plenty of opportunities to catch White in the band that put him on the map, I passed. At the time, the White Stripes seemed too loud and noisy.

It wasn't until White's 2012 Blunderbuss record came out that I really started to get into White's rich repertoire of music. Blunderbuss was my album of the year for 2012 and remains a record I frequently play. One could argue that there is no current active touring artist who has a bigger catalog of music to draw from than Jack White.  From the White Stripes, to the Raconteurs, to the Dead Weather to solo material, White covers a lot of musical ground and genres.   While I might be somewhat of a late comer to the Jack White party, White's reputation of being one of the best showmen and active songwriters preceded him.  Bluntly stated, the guy oozes talent, and from his lyrics and vocals, to guitar work and accompanying arrangements, he has established himself as a pioneering force in modern rock 'n roll.

For that reason, I joined the 3,500 plus huddled sweaty masses in the Eagles Ballroom on the warmest night of the summer to experience the pomp and pageantry White and his band had to offer on their current tour in support of White's second solo record, Lazaretto.

White created quite the anticipation for his performance by closing a light blue curtain over the stage between New Orleans singer-songwriter Benjamin Booker's set and White's.  Stage hands, dressed like early 1900's mobsters in coordinated outfits, hurried and scurried in front and behind the stage to make sure everything was ready.  At one point about 15 minutes prior to show time, one of the stage hands came out and reminded the capacity crowd to take care of each other on a hot night in the Eagles Ballroom and that, "this is a big rock 'n roll show, much bigger than the size of your cell phone screen," encouraging fans to enjoy the show without feeling the need to record video or pics, which White's hired photographer would do for everyone and post to the Jack White website for free.  Remarkably, the majority of the crowd complied, and very few folks tried to capture the show on their phones.  To be honest, this was quite refreshing to see, and I kept my phone in my pocket (aside from checking the Brewers score, which, knowing me is to be expected).

photo courtesy of Jack White; photo by David James Swanson

As a performer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel entertainment writer, Piet Levy, sums White up perfectly as a "mad scientist."  White was clearly the man in charge and he ran around the stage in a wild frenzy to open the show with the White Stripe's number, "Icky Thump,"  into a breakneck version of "Astro," My favorite track off of Lazaretto, "Just One Drink" followed.  Then came the title track, "Lazaretto," during which White became visibly frustrated with the sound and technical issues on stage. Like a baseball pitcher tagged for a few runs in the first inning, it took White a while to regain his poise and form after this set back.  White seemed to calm down a bit during a more Americana portion of the set which featured a wonderfully reworked and stripped down version of "Hotel Yorba," alongside, more alt-country infused tracks like "Temporary Ground," "Would You Fight for my Love," and "Alone in My Home."  White often was aided by violin/fiddle player, Lillie Mae Rische who did a superb job on background vocals and duets with White. Rische is truly a gifted musician and along with drummer Daru Jones's energetic playing, created almost a more lush rendition of sounds Jack created years ago with Meg White.  The rest of the touring band was exceptional as well, adding rich soundscapes to drive a lot of the tracks.

photo courtesy of Jack White; photo by David James Swanson

While White's stage banter often came across garbled and hard to decipher or understand, he made a point of giving a shout out to the Eagles Ballroom as a venue he has enjoyed playing in the past with the White Stripes and Raconteurs, and also dedicated the Blunderbuss track, "Missing Pieces" to the Cactus Club and other small venues he'd played in the past in Milwaukee.  This proved to be the highlight of the set of me and the tune that really captured White's energy, raw emotion and sound the best.

White played a six song encore which sent the crowd home happy with rousing renditions of the classic White Stripes song, "Fell In Love with a Girl," and the Raconteurs' rousing hit, "Steady As She Goes." Perhaps White's most buzzworthy move of the evening was covering a portion of Lorde's hit "Royals" which he flowed into"Suzy Lee," a deeper White Stripes cut.  White's most famous track, the football stadium anthem, "Seven Nation Army," predictably ended the show on a high note.

White is a true rock 'n roll showman, whose crazed frenzy helps shape his music and create a memorable performance for his fans fortunate enough to catch this relatively intimate performance from an artist who is now headlining festivals.  While this was not a "show of the year" performance in my book, it was a very good rock 'n roll concert by an artist who is at the top of his game.

photo courtesy of Jack White; photo by David James Swanson

Setlist courtesy of Setlist.fm

1. Icky Thump 
   (The White Stripes song)
2. Astro 
   (The White Stripes song)
3. Just One Drink 
4. Lazaretto 
5. High Ball Stepper 
6. Temporary Ground 
7. Hotel Yorba 
   (The White Stripes song)
8. Would You Fight for My Love? 
9. Three Women 
10. Cannon 
    (The White Stripes song)
11. Alone in My Home 
12. Weep Themselves to Sleep 
13. You Know That I Know 
    (Hank Williams cover)
14. I Cut Like a Buffalo 
    (The Dead Weather song)
15. Top Yourself 
    (The Raconteurs song)
16. Missing Pieces 
17. Sixteen Saltines 
18. Encore:
18. Fell in Love With a Girl 
    (The White Stripes song)
19. Steady, As She Goes 
    (The Raconteurs song)
20. Royals 
    (Lorde cover) (Tease)
21. Suzy Lee 
    (The White Stripes song)
22. Catch Hell Blues 
    (The White Stripes song)
23. Ball and Biscuit 
    (The White Stripes song)
24. Seven Nation Army 
    (The White Stripes song)