The Thought Of Not Knowing

Jack White @ Roseland Ballroom 5/22/2012

Sixteen Saltines / Missing Pieces / Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground / Love Interruption / Hotel Yorba / Weep Themselves to Sleep / I Guess I Should Go to Sleep / Top Yourself / Hypocritical Kiss / new song – “I Love Your Sister” / Blue Blood Blues / We’re Going to Be Friends / Two Against One / Hardest Button to Button / Freedom at 21 / Take Me With You When You Go / Carolina Drama / Ball and Biscuit // (encore with male band) Black Math / Cut Like A Buffalo / Catch Hell Blues / Seven Nation Army

The main set, performed with White’s lady band the Peacocks, was good, but sloppy. It was obvious that he was losing his patience for his band mates at some points, but they came together for some inspired moments, like drastically slowing down a verse from “Freedom at 21,” and a particularly brutal “Hardest Button to Button.” The big thrill of the night came at the end, when White suddenly appeared on a second stage to the side of the audience and played his encore with his male band, the Buzzardos. The surprise was enough to make this a memorable moment, but that band was on fire, and poured a full set’s worth of energy and raw power into four numbers. The Peacocks have their charms, but White has greater chemistry with this group, or at least drummer Daru Jones. I would like to see White consolidate these two bands at some point, to attempt to get the best of both worlds.

Jack White “Take Me With You When You Go”

While I strongly respect the deliberate limitations that Jack White has placed on his music, particularly in the White Stripes, I’ve always wanted him to break free of that and run wild with textures, sounds and styles. He does that on Blunderbuss, and most especially on the record’s best track, “Take Me With You When You Go.” It may be White’s best-ever composition; an ever-shifting number that flows from one loose groove to another, tossing in bits of country, Sly-like funk and piano rock before it even gets to a truly astonishing fuzz guitar solo that feels like a thousand-volt joy jolt. Also, harmonies! White shines when paired with a strong female vocalist, particularly when it draws out an intriguing sexual dynamic. In this song, Ruby Amanfu takes on a stern front, intensifying the lyric and diluting the part of Jack’s voice that’s a bit pleading and passive.

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