American music icon Jack White released (in his own way) a new album recently, and then announced a tour of small venues. This guy could sell out stadia, but booked two dates in Boston at Roadrunner, the new club in Allston Landing, on February 17th and 18th. Both shows sold out quickly, but we were able to get tickets to the second, Tuesday, February 18th.
The Boston area has been going through a cold, icy Winter. Dave was over and we all three drove into Allston on another frigid night, where we parked in the Warrior Ice Arena garage and had a fantastic dinner at a packed Railstop, where we met Leen.
Jack White is the consummate music impresario, and has booked local bands to open for him on all stops on this tour. He'd had one group on Monday, and on Tuesday had a different one, Weakened Friends from Portland. The band consists of Sonia Sturino on vocals and guitar, wife Annie Hoffman on bass and harmonies, and Adam Hand on drums. We managed to catch half of their thoroughly enjoyable set. They were a crunching, dynamic, great opening act for Jack, and though they played it cool, they had to gush about what an opportunity they'd been given to play to a packed house of 3500 rock fanatics.
Roadies in black ties and hats re-set the stage quickly, moving the drum riser (Patrick Keeler from the Raconteurs) and bass amps (Dominic Davis, Jack's long-time bassist) back and to the left, setting up a keyboard (Bobby Emmett in dark sunglasses) back and to the right, and leaving plenty of room for Jack's three big Fender amps, a guitar rack, and one mike exactly in stage center, with a small synthesizer keypad hanging from it. The guys came on right on time at 9:15 and tore the place up.
Jack alternated between three guitars: an orange and black one that had an incredible tone and that he played most of his classic songs on, one in his light blue color brand with white accents that he played when he needed a crisp sound, and an acoustic with lots of pickups that had the fullest sound I've ever heard from a wired acoustic. His guitar tech ran out and grabbed each when it was discarded, then tuned it quickly and returned it to the rack. Jack spent most of the time behind the mike and/or up on the drum riser, egging the band on, but sometimes he roamed to the front of the stage and egged the audience on, though we didn't need much egging. Everyone knew the cues and Jack didn't have to do much to get us going, and singing/clapping in time.
As I say, we'd arrived in the middle of the opening set, but were able to scoot around to the left and find a nice place to stand, about 35-40 feet from the stage. There was not much trouble with chompers, but many people had their phones out and obstructed others' view by holding them up. Jack hadn't stood for people getting their phones out when we'd seen him ten years ago, but time has marched on and there's no stopping it now. Anyway, here's the first set list:
- Intro Jam
- Old Scratch Blues
- That's How I'm Feeling
- Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
- Roadrunner (cover of the song the venue is named after, by Boston band The Modern Lovers)
- It's Rough on Rats (If You're Asking)
- Little Bird
- Corporation
- Why Walk a Dog?
- Screwdriver
- You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
- What's the Rumpus?
- High Ball Stepper
- Louie Louie (Richard Berry & The Pharaohs cover)
- Morning at Midnight
- Ball and Biscuit
These were basically played continuously of course, Jack rarely stops when he's got a guitar in his hands. It's hard to pick out highlights, since all of the songs were done so well. I was particularly thrilled by the classic Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (which I hadn't anticipated), the instant favorite, Rough on Rats, from his new record, and some great blues guitar on Why Walk a Dog? High Ball Stepper was another highlight. And what a bolt of energy for me, and then rippling throughout the crowd, when he rolled into Ball and Biscuit, one of his best examples of songwriting, and jammed it out to end the set.
As per normal, Jack and the band left the stage quickly, but only for a short, short break before coming out for a long encore, which was almost like a second set:
- Encore Rave Up
- Steady, as She Goes
- Archbishop Harold Holmes
- Sixteen Saltines
- That Black Bat Licorice
- Underground
- Seven Nation Army
We were beginning to get a little tired, if only because the energy coursing through the hall was exhausting. Jack hasn't been altering his set lists much on this tour, but we were again delighted that he changed up a bit and covered Steady As She Goes and Black Bat Licorice. And of course the crowd was more than primed for Seven Nation Army, and he didn't have to do much vocal work on that one as we all roared it out. No Hotel Yorba, but we all had a great time participating with a Jack White show with all the trimmings.
By the way, the Bournes found Roadrunner to be a great, convenient venue. Parking and dinner options were more than acceptable, and the hall featured fantastic sound. It's also got a balcony with seats, which look like they have great sightlines, but are much more expensive than GA floor tickets. Back into the cold night for us, and not a long ride home.
