Attended a 'secret' White Stripes show last night at Irving Plaza --- sorry, The Fillmore at Irving Plaza -- courtesy of my little buddy K. and his flagship band.
Weird, that new moniker. I associate that venue's name so much with my years in SF, after the Fillmore was reopened in 1994 and became an excellent place to see shows, second only to Great American Music Hall. Only change I could see at Irving is the old rock posters and photos hung all over the joint now. And terrible security who dig through bags at will, but do nothing about crowd control and idiots causing problems.
Jack and Meg played for nearly two hours, with half the set comprised of older songs, and half from the new 13-song album released yesterday. I haven't heard the new record yet, but about 50 people in front sure had downloaded it early and knew every single word. Bizarre to watch those super-fans sing every word. At first listen, the new flavor seems to tend towards longer, slower and more narrative songs. Although not my favorite band EVER, The Stripes are always quite good and loud as hell, with stomping rock-blues being the basis of any tune, even if there's piano layered on top. Jack had several rambling off-the-cuff stories to tell, and Meg sang to a backing track (at the very least) on the chorus on "In the Cold Cold Night."
Must admit I prefer a 50-minute rock show these days with maybe one encore, so it was a bit long to stand. Still, nice to see Jack only getting more talented, and the two back at a smaller place after their 7-year trajectory from 2 shows@Mercury, 4@Bowery, Irving Plaza, Union Square, Hammerstein, 3@Roseland, 2@Coney Island, and the amazing bill this July 24th at Madison Square Garden (currently at 12,000 seats and almost sold out) with Grinderman and Porter Wagoner.
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3 comments:
Seems to me that SNL is missing the boat on a Meg White solo album. That could be the funniest thing in a long while. Fuck I crack myself up sometimes.
Porter Wagoner is opening for the White Stripes at MSG?! I hope the kids are polite and don't turn it into a Garden Party redux.
Yes! Brilliant bill, dontcha think? Kappy got all obsessed with Porter after seeing him at Joe's Pub earlier this year, plus he's touring in support of that excellent new record of his so having Porter open for Nick Cave and Jack White seems, um, like a no-brainer. Sort of.
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