On the heels of “Frozen Charlotte,” an album steeped in fuzzy grit, Jack White cast a phoneless force field over the raucous Palladium. He was set to demonstrate why he remains atop the rocker food chain.
Something about me: I check many of my favorite artists' setlists the way some people may check their horoscope … as a daily ritual each morning on the toilet. Jack White changing his setlist each night makes for daily breaking news. I’ll often text my sister, Serena, about the random covers pulled out of a hat and the rarities rearing their heads from the depths of his discography. She is usually 3000 miles away in Pennsylvania, but with a dash of planning and a smidge of serendipity, my original concert buddy was able to be in LA for the show. Even though we were armed with all the stats & tendencies of his sets, nothing could have prepared us for what was about to unfold before us.
Jack and his powerhouse quartet showed their chops early as drummer Patrick Keeler, bassist Dominic Davis, and Bobby Emmett on keys blasted through an extended jam on the classic “Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground.” The largely impromptu setlist will bob & weave between solo material, covers, White Stripes, Raconteurs, and other endeavors across his storied career.
During the Raconteurs’ track “Broken Boy Soldier,” a subdued yet determined figure emerged from stage right wielding a gorgeous hollow-body Epiphone guitar. The guest turned out to be Nick Valensi, the early aughts guitar hero of The Strokes (who is currently on hiatus from touring with the band). Dueling back and forth with White and his band, the two rocketed through the whole song before Valensi’s name was formally introduced. He stayed on for a second track that Jack revealed had never been played live before, “Bless Yourself” off the 2024 release No Name. Faces were melted, obviously.
As if one surprise guest wasn’t enough, White also surprised longtime drumming collaborator Daru Jones by pulling him from side stage onto the kit for 2014’s “Lazaretto” -- a track Daru himself drummed on the record. Just before the rhythm changes completely midway through the song, Jones drops his custom trench coat and stands up for leverage over the crash cymbals. Frankly, he beats the hell out of the drums on this one. If you were shown a lineup of silhouetted drummers and asked to pick out Daru Jones, it wouldn’t be difficult at all. His distinct demeanor paired with the jaguar-like prowl of Jack White on stage cannot be compared, and it was a treat to get a peek at it again for a song.
The almost painfully obvious thing about seeing Jack White is you realize that the mega-hits you’ve heard a MILLION times at this point … are actually still phenomenal songs. It’s akin to a landmark being touristy, but worth visiting anyways despite the lines of people. There’s a reason why this song became what it did. From “Steady As She Goes” to “Icky Thump” and, of course, “Seven Nation Army,” it was made clear to any hipster craving the deep cuts (pshh, not me) that sometimes the hits just, well, HIT.
Throughout the entire night, there was a sneaky film camera burning a hole in my pocket. I had tip-toed over the line of trust. With a tiny devil-photographer sitting on my left shoulder prodding me to snap a few frames, I resisted the urge and kept the sanctity of the Jack White live show experience. And honestly, it’s seared into my brain probably even more permanently than it would’ve with some forgettable vertical videos saved to my phone’s camera roll.
And as a final chuckle-worthy punchline, the roll of film in that sneaky little camera was accidentally exposed. So that photo for which I would’ve risked everything (my life?) to capture … wouldn’t have even existed after all. The results were predetermined, or maybe Jack just sabotaged me by exposing the roll when I wasn’t looking. I guess we’ll never know because, hey, no photo evidence.
-- Elijah Hermitt for the SoCal Sound
