The White Stripes / Loretta Lynn / Blanche - New York Hammerstein Ballroom - 19/4/03
3/5
By: Joshua K
White Stripes Set-List: 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground', 'I Think I Smell A Rat' / 'Take A Whiff On Me', 'Black Math', 'Hotel Yorba', 'I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart', 'Death Letter', 'Seven Nation Army', 'Five String Serenade', 'In The Cold, Cold Night', 'You're Pretty Good Looking', 'Clarabella', 'Ball And Biscuit', 'We're Going To Be Friends', 'The Hardest Button To Button', 'Screwdriver', ENCORE, 'Rated X' (duet with Loretta Lynn)
Come one, come all. Step right up and arrive inside
Jack White's Country Jamboree at Hammerstein Ballroom,
a former opera-house turned concert-hall in midtown
Manhattan. Featuring performances by the musicians
that have shaped the life of Mr. White - plus a (too
brief) sonic blast from the Stripes themselves.
First up: Blanche, fronted by Detroit-based husband
and wife Dan and Tracee Miller. White Stripes
obsessives and musical trainspotters will note that
Dan Miller directed the 'Hotel Yorba' video, and that
early in Jack White's musical career he was a drummer
in the Millers' country-punk band Goober & The Peas.
Blanche's place on the bill thereby secured, how do
they sound? Well, if bluegrass, folk and alt-country
are your thing then Blanche are talented purveyors,
playing wry songs on topics including garbage
collectors and the world's largest crucifix ('they say
size really matters / so I guess I have to believe').
Look for an album later this year.
The venue now nearly filled, a full complement of
tuxedoed musicians amble onto the stage. They' re
soon joined by Jack White himself, who has forsaken
his UK tour outfit of t-shirt and (now-infamous) bi-color trousers
for the full-on 'Elephant' cover getup of Hank
Williams' red cowboy suit with white fringe. Playing
the role of MC to the hilt, Jack urges us to be 'good
little boys and girls' and welcome one of his heroes,
to whom he dedicated 'White Blood Cells': 'the Queen
of Country, the Coal Miner's Daughter herself, Ms.
Loretta Lynn...'
With that, on romps Loretta, resplendent in a white
sparkling ball-gown. And yep, she's country.
But, while she won't win many new fans among the rock
faithful, her set proves entertaining nonetheless, Lynn
quickly turning Hammerstein into the Grand Ole Opry,
all rollicking tunes and cornball jokes, and then
sealing the deal by bringing White back onstage to duet
on two of her most famous tunes, 'Fist City' and
'Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man'. At this point,
there is nowhere to go but her signature song, 'Coal
Miner's Daughter', warmly received by the
intrigued attendees.
Finally, after a 45-minute wait during which
black-and-white Betty Boop cartoons are screened from
the stage, it's time for the main event. Out stroll
Jack and Meg, the former still in his western gear,
the latter looking mod cool in a simple red dress;
sadly, no dramatic entrances compared to the UK shows
or New York last August. But who
needs drama with an opener as storming as 'Dead
Leaves', all screaming guitar, pounding drums and
passionate, wailing vocals. We soon
jump into 'White Blood Cells'' other metal
masterpiece, 'I Smell A Rat', now effectively intercepted
with spoken word from folk song 'Take A Whiff On Me'
(a.k.a. 'Cocaine Blues'). The dichotomy between the
two songs' protagonists, the angry moralist and the
harmless addict, makes highly-effective unhinged
theatre and the rock vibe continues with a
jaw-dropping charge through 'Black Math.'
Following the standard, brief introduction of his 'big
sister Meg', Jack then dives into 'Hotel Yorba' - but
it's almost too early for their most well-known song.
Especially after the electricity of the opening salvo,
and especially when followed by a too mellow 'I Want
To Be The Boy'. In fact, questions of pacing nag the
entire middle of the set, extending 'Death Letter' for
too long, then pumping the crowd back up with a fuzzed
out rendition of 'Seven Nation Army' only to puzzle
them again with a quick run through Love's obscure
'Five String Serenade' and then lull them again with
'In The Cold Cold Night' (in which, tonight sadly, Meg's vocals can
be described as shaky).
Things pick up again with a tight 'You're Pretty Good
Looking' - perfectly-positioned as a sharp repartee to
Meg's breathy seductions in the previous song.
Another smartly-executed contrast is found in the late
run of 'Ball And Biscuit', 'We're Going To Be Friends'
and 'The Hardest Button To Button.' Placing the
Stripes' McCartney-esque childhood idyll between a
dirty blues song and a punishing tale of domestic
strife is nervy, and it works.
Soon, they're off again and back again to (as you've
hoped) cover 'Rated X' with the song's originator,
Loretta Lynn. Fittingly, she's changed to a red n'
black ensemble for this final duet and seems to
thoroughly enjoy every moment.
And then after less than an hour they're
completely gone, like a rocket-ship hurtling toward
the stratosphere only to change course and quickly
land. Despite now having four albums of material -
plus a brace of astonishing covers - to choose from,
the set was less robust than during the landmark
'White Blood Cells' tours (even when Jack had
bronchitis) and shorter than the gigs UK fans were
treated to just a week prior.
So, what to make of the evening? Jack White would
probably give the night a '5', for getting to spend
quality time with his heroes. Careerist music-journos
will probably give it a '4', for songs expertly played
yet home in bed by midnight. But here at
rockfeedback, the vibe is distinctly fans first, and despite The
White Stripes sounding better than they ever have, the
brevity, the rockus interruptus, was an insurmountable
letdown on this rare occasion.
Photo-Credit - Toby L (Brixton, 2nd Nite)
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