The White Stripes
Date: July 8, 2007 Gonna Catch Hell My first long day at Bluesfest was also my most anticipated, with The White Stripes headlining. After an unplanned return to the auction tent, I ended up witnessing that stellar performance from above the stage, overlooking a crowd of 35,000 stretched out across the field. The epic and decidedly bluesy set from the Stripes was the capper on a solid day of music, making for a very memorable night. Although I missed my intended arrival time, I did catch a good portion of the time slot given to My Dad vs. Yours on the Blacksheep Stage. The instrumental outfit sounded as good as always, earning a warm crowd response with their solid playing. (See a photo of the setlist at the bottom of this recap.) After that show, I did some shuffling between the two smaller stages, first popping over to the River Stage for a look at locals F!ght F!ght F!ght. I hadn't seen the band before but they delivered a decent if unspectacular indie-leaning set. I made it back to the Blacksheep Stage in time to see the finish of Spiral Beach. This was a more memorable affair, with the young band displaying a lot of manic energy and unconventional song structure. I found the chaos a bit too aimless for my taste but it was certainly a strong effort. Ohbijou followed Spiral Beach, striking a very different mood, with the seven-piece band crafting delicate music built around Casey Mecija's ethereal voice. With violin, cello, and ukelele colouring the songs, the band's performance was well-suited for a casual, early-evening set. Ohbijou was another group that I knew only vaguely at the start of the festival; but I'd be happy to hear from them again. My night ended back on the main field, starting with Joel Plaskett and the Emergency. Plaskett had originally been slated to play the same stage as The White Stripes but some last-minute rescheduling had shuffled him to the opposite side of the grounds. Regardless, a large crowd found its way to the proper location in time to see him perform. Plaskett had a different backing squad than when I saw him last; and he was also joined by Gordie Johnson, in town for a Bluesfest set of his own. The band opened with "Work Out Fine" from Truthfully, Truthfully; but the balance of the set concentrated heavily on their latest album, Ashtray Rock. Plaskett was a good frontman, as usual, conversing with a crowd that he speculated may have been his largest ever. He acknowledged that a string of recent shows, including a solo performance earlier in the day, had left his voice in imperfect form. While he did seem to struggle on his falsetto, it didn't lessen the impact of the show. Plaskett focused primarily on the more rocking portion of his repertoire, although a brief solo segment included "True Patriot Love." With the stage switch causing the Joel Plaskett Emergency to bump against Leahy's start time, I was happy that the group was allowed the time to cap its solid set with a one-song encore of "Come On, Teacher." Although I hadn't planned on even bidding, I surprised myself by actually winning the charity auction for the "best seats in the house", meaning that I would be seeing The White Stripes from a seat above the stage. The set ended up feeling like a private show, with the added energy of a crowd of 35,000 people stretching back as far as I could see. Unlike last year, when I won a similar auction but was distracted by the fact that I was making a marriage proposal, this time I was able to concentrate on the concert, which was amazing. My vantage point on stage right meant that Meg's drum kit was just in front of me. Although her back was to me, I could see her bouncing in her seat every time that she kicked the bass drum during the opening number, "Stop Breaking Down." The rawness of that song was indicitive of the set to come. It's not easy to predict what The White Stripes will play at a given concert. Since they work without a written setlist, I couldn't even cheat by reading ahead. However, I had high hopes that they would skew even bluesier than usual, given that they were at the Bluesfest; and my hopes were soon realized. "Death Letter," "Cannon," "Ball and Biscuit," "Instinct Blues," and "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues," were all included in a song selection that spanned all of the group's albums (and beyond, with "Lord, Send Me an Angel" and "Gimme Back My Wig"). Jack White let his music do the talking for most of the night, although one exchange did hint at additional motivation for the bluesy set, when he quoted a newspaper article asking, "Are the White Stripes bluesy enough to headline the Bluesfest?," answering first with the response, "Someone must be colour blind," and then with a staggering take of "Catch Hell Blues." Regardless of how much or little he spoke to the crowd, Jack was a captivating performer throughout the night, prowling the massive stage and unleashing a phenomenal guitar attack. One of the main advantages of my position was that because Jack often faces Meg while he plays, or comes together with her to exchange musical cues, he was facing me through much of the night, affording me a great look at his passionate playing. I also had an interesting angle when he sat behind Meg's kit and played while she came out to sing "In the Cold, Cold Night." That song was a nice change of pace; and I thought that Meg's singing sounded notably better than I have heard from her before. Meg's turn on vocals came during the encore, although the early timing of the band's departure from the stage made it more of a two-act performance, rather than a long-set/short-encore pairing. Regardless of terminology, it was when the White Stripes returned from their break that Jack made full use of the large-scale stage set-up. Although the effect of seeing the two players cast giant silhouettes on a red backdrop for most of the night was neat, it was most fun to see Jack charge up a set of stairs and stomp his way across a high platform, kicking up dust to every beat of the title track to Icky Thump. He repeated that trick for what was perhaps the highlight of the night, "I'm Slowly Turning Into You," from the same album. The sights and sounds of the massive crowd pumping their fists and chanting "yeah" in time with the band's fantastic rendition of that song was certainly among the most memorable moments of the concert. The casual fans in the festival crowd likely also appreciated the inclusion of a few other singles in the encore, such as "Seven Nation Army," "Hotel Yorba," and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground." For a show that largely concentrated on blues, though, the traditional closer, "Boll Weevil," was a very fitting end. Seeing Jack and Meg take turns waving a giant Ontario flag was also a nice touch on this stop of the band's improbably thorough Canadian tour. As The White Stripes were my favourite act in the line-up of this year's Bluesfest, I had extremely high hopes for them. While other artists have definitely stepped up to surprise me over the first several days of the festival, the Stripes delivered the monster set that I was anticipating. I think that this was the best performance that I have seen from the band yet, and it was certainly the most unique perspective that I'm ever likely to have for one of their concerts, making for an unforgettable night. My Dad vs. Yours setlist (courtesy the cooperation of a guy at the front): 
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