Not even a frost advisory could keep fans from hearing Jack White play.
Nearly 6,000 people gathered at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Monday in weather that was below 50 degrees to hear the blues-rock stylings that have made White famous.
The majority of White’s show seemed more like a instrumental jam session with his back-up band than a traditional concert, but fans did not seem to mind.
White was shrouded in blue-monochromatic light and backed by his all-male band, as the crowd roared with excitement when he stepped up to the mic and opened the show with “Sixteen Saltines.”
White showed off his instrumental talent by switching off playing steel and electric guitars and piano.
Incorporating his new solo work with songs from his bands, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and Dead Weather, White weaved the show together seamlessly. The songs flowed in such a way that it was hard to tell when one ended and the next began.
For the majority of his performance, White sang just a few lines from a song, then played his guitar and interacted with his back-up band.
It appeared he was able to satisfy the sold-out crowd as they cried out for an encore, and White complied, putting a new spin on some of his classic songs such as “Steady, As She Goes” and “Hello Operator.”
White’s encore was closer to the typical music fans have come to know and love, but still with a twist. He mashed up lyrics from different songs and fit them into the beat he was playing at that moment. It seemed White just played whatever he was in the mood for, picking songs at random.
This style of playing seemed to make it difficult on White’s back-up band as it waited and listened to what he was playing before it could follow suit.
However, this did not stop fans from enjoying White’s revamped song versions.
White closed the show with “Seven Nation Army,” a song some Ohio State students might be familiar with from hearing it played in Ohio Stadium during football games.
