Jack White Rocks Columbia

Back in June I attended Governors Ball Music Festival and had the opportunity to see many great acts. On the top of the power rankings that weekend was Jack White. White delivered an epic show spanning his entire career. (FULL Review Here) It was a memorable night in NYC.

Almost entirely opposite of seeing a rock legend headline a festival for 40,000+ fans was the experience I had last month in Columbia, SC. While in Augusta, GA for work, I traveled over to the South Carolina capital to see White play the Township Auditorium for a sold out crowd of 2,500. Although the capacity was far different, the ferocity and performance by White stayed the same.

The Nashville, TN resident played for over 2 hours and gave the audience exactly what they wanted, delivering 21 songs while sampling from every act he’s had his hand in. (Enter: The White Stripes, Dead Weather and the Raconteurs) In total, he entertained the audience through 13 covers.

While the history behind Jack is excellent, my favorite tunes of the night came from the 8 remaining songs that are considered his ‘solo career.’ White has released two solo albums – 2008’s Blunderbuss and the excellent – Lazaretto, released just earlier this year.

As the curtain opened to start the show, White appeared center stage, raising his hands to encourage the crowd to start screaming with him for opening tune “High Ball Stepper.” This was just one of five songs from the most recent album that would appear in the first set. The essential tracks included “Just One Drink” and “Three Women.”

In traditional rock star form, White kept his first set short in order to set up an epic 12-song encore. The hits seemed to flow one after the next with “Fell in Love with a Girl” and “Steady, As She Goes” to begin. The energy was high and White showed off his musical talent, spending time on both the guitar and piano.

White made quick work and did not speak too much during the night. While known for going off on rants at shows from time to time, the opinionated rocker kept quiet. He did mention prior to his final song that he had not played this venue before, but claimed he wants to come back now after the success of the show.

The appropriate closer was “Seven Nation Army,” capping off a great set. White acknowledged the audience as the blue light that illuminated the stage all night finally dimmed. While White is great as a festival headliner, seeing him in a small venue with an up close and personal feel is a true treat. I'm giving this the slight advantage over the GovBall show. 

CONCERT RATING: 4 Stars

SETLIST:

1. High Ball Stepper 
2. Lazaretto 
3. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground 
   (The White Stripes song)
4. Temporary Ground 
5. Just One Drink 
6. Cannon / Little Room 
   (The White Stripes song)
7. Misirlou 
   (Dick Dale cover)
8. Three Women 
9. Apple Blossom 
   (The White Stripes song)
10. Blunderbuss 
11. Encore:
11. Fell in Love With a Girl 
    (The White Stripes song)
12. Steady, As She Goes 
    (The Raconteurs song)
13. Old Enough 
    (The Raconteurs song) (First verse and chorus only.)
14. I Cut Like a Buffalo 
    (The Dead Weather song)
15. Missing Pieces 
16. We're Going to Be Friends 
    (The White Stripes song)
17. You've Got Her in Your Pocket 
    (The White Stripes song)
18. Icky Thump 
    (The White Stripes song)
19. I'm Slowly Turning Into You 
    (The White Stripes song)
20. Would You Fight for My Love? 
21. Seven Nation Army 
    (The White Stripes song)