James generously invited me to join him at The Dead Weather's Terminal 5 show last night. I went mainly out of curiosity, having not been to a show at such a large venue (3000) since seeing Prince at the then Fleet Center in 2004.
I grew up a huge Zeppelin and Hendrix fan, and though I haven't followed Jack White's various incarnations and reincarnations all that closely, I've always had a generally favorable assessment of his treatment of a classic aesthetic.
In this regard the show did not disappoint. The female vocalist and sometime-guitarist Allison Mosshart was a more than able front-person for a group whose most famous member was, curiously, the drummer...
Phil Collins comparisons aside, the vibe Jack's drumming most consistently brought to mind was that of the late Buddy Miles, particularly Miles's work on "Machine Gun" on the Band of Gypsies record and also on his seminal classic "Them Changes." That is to say, he was pretty great.
The band was as expected blues oriented, each track conjuring different memories of "Physical Graffiti" and "Led Zeppelin II" for this Page saturated soul. The tones were raw, vintage sounding, the whole band really got into it in the way most of the Brooklyn geniuses I follow don't, but hey, to each his own!
I can't say that song writing is a strength of this group, but certainly what they lack in that area they make up in pure virtuosity of presence. And if there is ever any doubt, any moment of uncertainty, Jack can simply emerge from behind the kit, grab a Les Paul, and fucking kill it like Jimmy Page only wishes he still could. (He did this for the last song pre-encore)
It's a meme, but Jack White is a legit rock star in a way that Dave Portner and Ed Droste aren't, and I say this admiring no two rock artists more than Droste and Portner... It's just for the pure classic rock fueled Zep addict, Jack White brings that blues based, alcohol oriented musical brutality in a way that hits the sweet spot.
Was 'Rise Above' way heavier than 'Icky Thump'? Of course. Are Dirty Projectors avant niched to death turned blooming life? Yes.
Is Modest Mouse better than the White Stripes. Way better.
Is this post over?
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