Jack White is a man of many genres – to say a man of many talents would, ironically, be too generic. Seamlessly switching from country, to folk, to more obviously, guitar rock, White’s influences span the full length of the musical spectrum, filtering into his work in the form of a subtle synth tune here and a casual guitar riff there. But in the quality of his performance is where his consistency lies. Feeding off the energy of the crowd, White embarked on a two hour set on Tuesday night, that enabled him to show off his full instrumental ability, switching from electric to acoustic, guitar to piano, all with effortless skill and charisma.
Taking to the stage with the accompaniment of a smooth jazz track, White instantly kicked into an insane guitar solo – a theme that would continue throughout the evening – before breaking into ‘Over and Over and Over’, a track from his most recent album, Boarding House Reach. After performing a number of his own tracks, the tone of the gig shifted as he strummed the opening acoustic cords of The White Stripes’ ‘Hotel Yorba’, the audience swaying and singing in recognition and enjoyment. Throughout the night White switched between blues, country, folk and rock inspired tracks, regularly indulging himself in overly long guitar solos, yet keeping the crowd engaged for every second of his time on stage.
From his own tracks, to The Dead Weather, to The White Stripes, White played songs from every era of his musical life, and wasn’t afraid to put a fresh stamp on these tracks either. Breezing through ‘Cut Like a Buffalo’, ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ and “Why Walk A Dog?”, White had the crowd from the moment he stepped onto the stage, and held them right the way through to the finish of the infamous ‘Seven Nation Army’. White has had multiple musical reincarnations through the years, but by giving audiences the chance to hear “a song I wrote three days ago” as well as the established tracks they crave, he gives them a rare insight into his world – it is for this reason that his fans have always stuck by him, and will continue to do so no matter which direction he chooses to head in next.
