I Saw The White Stripes Last Night, And It Was A Ball...And A Biscuit
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Artist:
Last night, bendblock and I had one last concert adventure before he moves off to Pasadena, California later this week. We drove the baron stretch of I-40 between Little Rock and Memphis and made a slight detour for some killer barbeque at Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbeque and Restaurant.
Later that night, The White Stripes wowed a packed Snowden Grove Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi as they wrapped up the first leg of their 2007 American tour.
Jack and Meg were very gracious and thankful for being able to make this stop in Mississippi. This was their last show until they play the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September. Mississippi was also the last state east of the Mississippi River that they had never played. This state, the birthplace of the hill country blues, was the perfect backdrop for The White Stripes original take on the Southern blues establishment.
Every piece of equipment and set on stage was red-washed. The lights were red. Jack wore red, head to toe, and played a plethora of red guitars and synths. Meg wore a red top and set at her custom red percussion station. This canvas of red actually kicked the emotional level of the concert up a notch.
Here's a couple of great pictures from Pitchfork of exactly what the show looked like.
They played a solid mix of classics from their first three albums, including “Hotel Yorba”, “Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground”, “Cannon”, “Apple Blossom” and my favorite of their blues covers, Robert Johnson’s “Death Letter”. Jack riffed seamlessly between these classics and some great cuts from their last three albums, including “Icky Thump” (of course), “Blue Orchid”, “In The Cold, Cold Night” with Meg singing solo center stage as Jack sat behind picking with his back turned toward the crowd (not wanting to steal his “little sis’s” thunder), a crowd hushing version of “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues” on solo acoustic, a raging “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and my all-time favorite Stripes tune, “Ball And Biscuit”. This was the last song before the five song encore, and it was fantastic. Jack ripped it up on his electric. His mic kept slipping or not giving him the sound he wanted, so he ripped it off the stand, threw it down and jumped up on a box at the front of the stage for a crunching solo while one of his crew (who were all dressed in black suits, thin red ties and red feathered black hats) fixed his mic. Other than this incident, and Jack’s organ never being loud enough, the mood on the stage was lighthearted and fun. They seemed to be having a good time with it.
Jack and Meg have such chemistry on stage. Their childish interplay of exchanging glances and playful dialogue between songs and during the encore furthered the myth of the sibling rock duo from Detroit. Jack announced to the crowd during the intro to the final song of the encore, Leadbelly’s “De Ballit of de Boll Weevil”, that his baby sister would give a kiss on the cheek to everyone who helped sing them “out of the woods” on the last verse. Meg gave a sassy smirk and an “Oh, Jack....” look, but seemed to agree as she gave a little nod and slapped a cymbal with her stick.
We sang our hearts out on that last verse.
After the last “looking for a home”, Jack leaned his guitar on the keys of one of his synths, which played a looping trill, he met Meg center stage where they thanked, waved and bowed to a roaring, adoring crowd. If there were folks in the crowd who were on the fence about whether or not they were a White Stripes fan, last night Jack and Meg made believers out of them.
Here's a Youtube video of The White Stripes performing "Apple Blossom" at last night's show. It looks like it was shot from directly behind where I was standing. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy2gYp4BRCQ
Later that night, The White Stripes wowed a packed Snowden Grove Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi as they wrapped up the first leg of their 2007 American tour.
Jack and Meg were very gracious and thankful for being able to make this stop in Mississippi. This was their last show until they play the Austin City Limits Music Festival in September. Mississippi was also the last state east of the Mississippi River that they had never played. This state, the birthplace of the hill country blues, was the perfect backdrop for The White Stripes original take on the Southern blues establishment.
Every piece of equipment and set on stage was red-washed. The lights were red. Jack wore red, head to toe, and played a plethora of red guitars and synths. Meg wore a red top and set at her custom red percussion station. This canvas of red actually kicked the emotional level of the concert up a notch.
Here's a couple of great pictures from Pitchfork of exactly what the show looked like.
They played a solid mix of classics from their first three albums, including “Hotel Yorba”, “Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground”, “Cannon”, “Apple Blossom” and my favorite of their blues covers, Robert Johnson’s “Death Letter”. Jack riffed seamlessly between these classics and some great cuts from their last three albums, including “Icky Thump” (of course), “Blue Orchid”, “In The Cold, Cold Night” with Meg singing solo center stage as Jack sat behind picking with his back turned toward the crowd (not wanting to steal his “little sis’s” thunder), a crowd hushing version of “300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues” on solo acoustic, a raging “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and my all-time favorite Stripes tune, “Ball And Biscuit”. This was the last song before the five song encore, and it was fantastic. Jack ripped it up on his electric. His mic kept slipping or not giving him the sound he wanted, so he ripped it off the stand, threw it down and jumped up on a box at the front of the stage for a crunching solo while one of his crew (who were all dressed in black suits, thin red ties and red feathered black hats) fixed his mic. Other than this incident, and Jack’s organ never being loud enough, the mood on the stage was lighthearted and fun. They seemed to be having a good time with it.
Jack and Meg have such chemistry on stage. Their childish interplay of exchanging glances and playful dialogue between songs and during the encore furthered the myth of the sibling rock duo from Detroit. Jack announced to the crowd during the intro to the final song of the encore, Leadbelly’s “De Ballit of de Boll Weevil”, that his baby sister would give a kiss on the cheek to everyone who helped sing them “out of the woods” on the last verse. Meg gave a sassy smirk and an “Oh, Jack....” look, but seemed to agree as she gave a little nod and slapped a cymbal with her stick.
We sang our hearts out on that last verse.
After the last “looking for a home”, Jack leaned his guitar on the keys of one of his synths, which played a looping trill, he met Meg center stage where they thanked, waved and bowed to a roaring, adoring crowd. If there were folks in the crowd who were on the fence about whether or not they were a White Stripes fan, last night Jack and Meg made believers out of them.
Here's a Youtube video of The White Stripes performing "Apple Blossom" at last night's show. It looks like it was shot from directly behind where I was standing. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy2gYp4BRCQ
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