Last Tuesday night, it was
the eve of a show that wasn't on my radar, as much as I hate to admit
it. Had it not been for someone's granny passing away,(prayers go
out to that family) I would have just gone on with my life without
looking back never knowing what had passed. Long story short, a
buddy of mine had an extra ticket. TO JACK WHITE. AT THE FOX. “Sure
maybe I can pencil that in to my extremely busy Tuesday night
schedule.” Psshh. “I'm there,” was my response. We sat
across from the fabulous Fox Theatre with two sultry young ladies,
both friends of his, and had a light dinner while we awaited the
auditory face-melting tunes we had come to hear. We finished our
entrees and j-walked across Peachtree. If you've never been to the
Fox, you're missing out. Its ancient and has hosted some of the greats. It has some of
the best acoustics in the universe. But, really the interior of the
place is breath-taking. The ceiling is concave in shape and painted
this midnight blue with ominous lighting all around to make it look
like the night sky. Awesome. Seen many shows at the Fox in my day
and knew this one would never be forgotten. I knew only bits &
pieces about Jack White from the days of 'Seven Nation Army'. Also
from the days of my buddy Scott Ross blaring 'The Raconteurs' (who
are freaking awesome) in kitchens across the Square in beautiful
Oxford, MS.
 |
| a sea of blue |
The stage and lighting
scheme kept with the eery blue “night sky.” The scene was set
and the lights went down as we scooted to our seats with 2 beers a
piece. The band poured onto stage. Shouts of joy and hoots n' hollers filled the crowded air. From what I could see, Jack White
was wearing some weathered tuxedo like getup, probably white but doused in ocean
blue from the lights. Also from what I could see, he was the only
dude on stage. A whole band made up of Sheila's! They didn't come
to mess around either. The drummer, God bless her soul, might have
been the daughter of late John Henry Bonham (Led Zeppelin for you
non music-freaks). The drummer keeps the beat, keeps things
rolling and on schedule for the rest of the band. Well this girl
made the experience of the whole show. They have her placed stage
right. (left for the audience) Up in the front. It was like she was
the engineer of the steam locomotive pulling the rest of the freight
train down the track. Truly great rhythm and style. Next to her, (they formed
a semi circle towards the back of the stage), was a stand up bassist.
Amplified of course but just the thing to go with their style of
music. To her left, another good looking lady, playing pedal steel.
Also perfect for this old-school country blues rock vibe they have
going. On around to the other side of the circle was a tambourine
playing, picture taking, funky 60s/70s dancing do-it-all type of girl
that moved around the stage more than a nervous comedian. Next to
her was the backup singer, a black girl with a perfectly smooth voice
accompanied by the ability to belt out lyrics in great contrast to
Jack White's raspy vocals. Finally to her left, was the pianist.
Both traditional piano, and keyboard in use. Rotating front and back
like a pilot of the Millennium Falcon. Ultimately, the middle of the
semi circle is punctuated with the man himself. Rocking back and
forth to tunes like “Freedom at 21,” and “Sixteen Saltines.”
Bluesy rocking numbers that will make your head spin, or like me,
rock back and forth with a shit-eating grin plastered across your
mug.
After a long first set,
many great tunes and a non-stop, non-sit down type of pace the band
took a short break. We ran to the bar to grab a last call Bronson.
We were the last two to get served. Maybe overserved. We made it back to our
seats and awaited the encore. At the end of the previous set I
noticed a roadie bringing on stage and plugging in the ever
famous resonator (Jack's.) It's a guitar that was developed by
musicians in the 20's to be louder than traditional acoustic guitars
They ofcourse lost some popularity by the age of amplification.
However, blues and bluegrass (which gave rise to country) took a
liking to resonators and they're still around today. Anyway, getting
off topic. I knew Jack White played a resonator, especially when he
would play “Seven Nation Army.” A song that topped the charts
in 2003 from White's original band with sister, Meg, The White
Stripes. Long story short I called the encore and must give credit where it's due to Scott Ross that alluded me to it.
As the bass drum became
ever more frequent, we knew this was it. The encore, the climax ,
the finale. White and company blasted into fret-jumping power jam
that rocks your face off. With the crushing blows of chick # 1's
drum patterns and Jack White's sinfully good sounding resonator, they
tore the roof off the place and left everyone in awe, with smiles all
around and a standing ovation from the fabulous fans at the Fox
Theatre. What a way to spend a Tuesday night in Atlanta. I leave you with a video of that encore (Not actually from the Fox, but you'll get the idea.) Don't Forget the Link
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