Despite being a teenager during the White Stripes' quick escalation to fame, I wasn't aware of the band until my mid 20's. It was like discovering the Beatles again, but a little more awesome because they were an existing band that could still release new stuff.
Me and my sister were going to see them at Austin City Limits in 2009 - we even bought tickets! This was a big deal because we traditionally did not buy tickets to ACL, we worked the Austin's Pizza booth and got in free. We got our beer free too. And we traded pizza for nearly everything else we needed or wanted. Heck, we got PAID good money to listen to the Austin Ventures Stage, make pizza and hangout backstage. Working a festival is usually more fun than attending cause you get a lot more stories out of it and there is always something to do. And you have more money than you started with. I would have done it for free, truth be told.
BUT the White Stripes were worth the price of admission, so we couldn't take the chance of a mad pizza rush keeping us in the booth during their show. We were going to camp out at the front of their stage all day to save our spots.
The White Stripes canceled about three days before the festival, right after a show that ended up being their last live show - ever. They did Conan later that year as their official last show, but that doesn't count. The reason for canceling was valid. Muse filled their spot, which was... fine, I guess.
Ever since then I've jumped at every opportunity to see Jack White play and every time it's been great. The most recent time was a few summers ago - my sister and I got to see The Raconteurs. Brandi Carlile was on first (more on her in future pots) and we sat near the sound booth cause that's where the best sound is. This woman, maybe in her 70's sat next to us, with a mad look on her face the whole time, all alone. When Brandi's set ended she asked me what time it was, I told her Jack should be around in about 10 minutes, and she lit up a roach and hit it like the world was ending. She didn't offer me any, but that was fine.
When Jack took the stage he yelled "We're gonna play some songs, maybe you'll like em, maybe you won't, I don't care, whatever" and later rambled "we got a new album, I think its called the white album, we're selling cassettes out of Brendan's van. Help us out so Brendan can get a cup of coffee in the morning." That old lady jammed the fuck out the entire show.
I think that was Jack's way of saying that he wasn't there to get paid - he's got plenty of money. He was there because he wanted to be there, he was there to rock. He makes music real and fun - I love that. So did that old lady.
Here's my favorite tunes:
Ball and Biscuit - a Bear Creek friend (Johnny 5) used to play this every Wednesday morning to wake up the staff. Wednesday is biscuit day, the best day of any day.
The Denial Twist - They are such good friends with Conan!
Old Enough - The Raconteurs are a supergroup - a guy from Kings of Leon is in this band, I always forget about him. This version has Rick Scaggs and Ashley Monroe.
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground - Probably my favorite stripes song. I broke my car speakers once with it. Also a reason why my hearing is going.
Little Acorns - Motivational! Also loud.
Full Raconteurs Concert - The actual show starts around the 16 minute mark.
Rock and roll!
That Johnny 5 guy sounds alright