Jack White and his band of men entertained a sell-out crowd with an array of songs from all his various ventures, including Raconteurs and Dead Weather. The enthusiasm displayed on stage is infectious from the start, as White whirls around, moving like an organised hurricane between a selection of guitars and the piano whilst whipping the audience into a frenzy whilst encouraging them to sing along.
Unsurprisingly, the band consists of incredible musicians who look to White for their lead; they are amazingly tight as a unit whilst allowing space for fluidity and extended solos. The sound throughout is immense with Jack tinkering with his amps to ensure all appreciate what he has to offer, unfortunately it was the vocals that were lacking at the start however this was rectified within three songs. The audience are utterly appreciative of the man who has the musical Midas touch; noticeably there is particular love for all the White Stripes tracks, which runs over when he finishes the set with the anthemic Seven Nation Army.
White does show his appreciation for the Birmingham music scene too by honouring the legendary Black Sabbath. The resounding triumph of the night was I Cut Like A Buffalo that pounded through the venue with such authority it was mesmerising and seems like it entranced all involved. The main drawback to the evening was an unsubtle access-all-areas photographer who was not discreet in her attempts to take photos of the band whilst on stage, however, this is an attempt to try and reduce the amount of people who try to view gigs through the screen of their phones so I shouldn’t moan too much. All in all, White came to Birmingham in a ridiculously large number of vehicles and successfully conquered, justifying the fairly expensive ticket price. This man is a musical genius who delivers a fantastic live performance and deserves every bit of recognition he gets.
Review by Toni Woodward
Photographs by Jo McCaughey
