This article was originally published on Clash
A few days prior to his performances in New York City, Jack White shared a statement on Instagram (a move that would’ve been far more surprising before Bob Dylan joined TikTok) to address those who have been criticizing the runtime of his present-day stage act.
“I know that we’re living in a current era where people like to say ‘so and so played for three hours last night!’, and brag about it the next day,” he wrote. “My mind has no intention of ‘impressing’ y’all in that context. The Beatles and Ramones played 30 minute (ish) sets, and If I could, I would do the same at this moment in my performing life.”
The 49-year-old then added: “I’ve never phoned it in in my life, whether it’s 20 minutes or 2 hours, I’m giving the room what the room is prompting me to do and share and that doesn’t mean if people cheer louder it’s going to be longer either! haha. There’s no setlist, and it’s not a marvel movie, or a Vegas residency, it’s rock and roll and it’s a living breathing organism.”
Loyal to every single word attached to his name, the Third Man Records boss cranked up the heat in snow-covered NYC right after. Playing back-to-back-to-back shows from February 10th to 12th as part of his ongoing concert series, he and his band took the stage at the Kings Theater on his second night in the metropolis to prove a point for what seemed like the thousandth time.
There are, however, some noticeable changes in the Jack White experience this time around. Over the past decade, he had partnered with Yondr to ensure that his audience didn’t have access to their smartphones while he was playing, but this embargo has now been lifted. The No Name Tour, much like the nameless album it is named after, is really just an unambiguous rock exhibition — a four-piece band playing relatively smaller venues with no stage design, props or animation … just unprocessed, undeterred live music.
It is worth noting that the ‘No Name’ album was released without any promotion or marketing to demonstrate that just music alone can push a product to its full potential, and its adjoining tour is basically an extension of that tenet.
With support from drummer Patrick Keeler (The Raconteurs), bassist Dominic Davis and keyboardist Bobby Emmett, the Detroit native powered through an hourlong set and then a thirty-minute encore in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood on Tuesday night. Whereas most artists risk alienating their fans by playing too much new material, White has remained in his prime ever since he reached it over two decades ago since his following has held him in place through every stage of evolution. For him, spectators pouting at or not recognizing the songs he plays has never been an issue.
The showcase comprised a number of fresh solo joints such as ‘It’s Rough On Rats (If You’re Asking)’, ‘Underground’ and ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’ as well as cuts from earlier albums like ‘Highball Stepper’ and ‘What’s Done Is Done’. Looking to the past, he churned out several White Stripes tunes, including ‘The Hardest Button To Button’, ‘Black Math’, ‘Hotel Yorba’ and ‘De Stijl’ deep cut ‘Let’s Build A Home’ in addition to ‘Broken Boy Soldier’ and ‘Steady As She Goes’ by the Raconteurs. Early in the set, White even paid homage to his lifelong blues hero Robert Johnson with a cover of ‘Little Queen Of Spades’.
Throughout the performance, it remained unclear if the 12-time Grammy winner was negotiating faulty equipment or just keeping his guitar tech on his toes by constantly tweaking and switching up his weapon of choice, multiple times during a song in some cases.
Either way, this is Jack White in his rawest form.
Ever since the White Stripes disbanded in 2011, he has been indulging in all the practices he denied himself when he had Meg White in his corner — in all fairness, what more could an artist as unpredictable as him ask for than a drummer who kept up with him at every step of the way for 14 consecutive years?
After more than a decade of experimenting with varying degrees of profusion since then, he is back to doing absolutely the most within self-imposed confines that bring out the best in him.
A seasoned blues and country fundamentalist, he wants absolutely nothing obscuring his work anymore. Jack White is a musician by trade, and he is now travelling the world to remind everyone that the blue hair, overstimulating music videos and Willy Wonka escapades all come second to the indomitable force that is his sound.
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