Alternative rock legend and Nashville resident Jack White performed an enthralling, sweaty rock 'n' roll show to a sold-out crowd at Music City's Basem*nt East on Tuesday night.
The Aug. 13 concert was the latest of White's recent round of "pop-up shows," where he announces a concert close to the date and sells tickets shortly before the show.
With a capacity of 575, White's Basem*nt East show was tight-knit and intimate. The fans who were lucky enough to score the limited tickets were eager to hear White's new music in person.
The Nashville show followed the official release of White's album "No Name" to the public on Aug. 2 after employees at Third Man Records slipped the record into shoppers' bags under the radar days before.
While The Tennessean was not granted photo permissions at the concert, we're here to let you know the evening's highlights.
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Jack White's Nashville show full of jam sessions, ground-thumping bass, soaring guitar riffs
The Detroit-born rocker took the stage wearing a black jacket with two white stripes on it, perhaps an homage to his time as the frontman and guitarist for duo The White Stripes.
Alongside White on the Nashville stage was drummer Patrick Keeler (The Raconteurs), keyboardist Bobby Emmett (The Sights) and bassist Dominic Davis.
The band delivered a tight 90-minute set complete with jam sessions, echoing reverb, ground-thumping bass licks and raw, electric guitar riffs that could have soared on perpetually.
Picking highlights from White's show is a lofty task; it flowed together so seamlessly that the evening felt directed by White, who effortlessly played both the maestro and the star of the show.
White began the evening with new hits off of the front end of "No Name," starting with the album's opener "Old Scratch Blues" and performing "That's How I'm Feeling" and "It's Rough on Rats (If You're Asking)."
Among white strobe lights and a flood of blue illumination (to match the bright blue "No Name" album cover), White told the crowd, "Everybody in the whole damn room, clap your hands!"
He would squeal into the mic with a high-pitched yelp and even speak in a charismatic, rock 'n' roll cadence when he addressed the crowd. White's rockstar persona permeated the Basem*nt East — never once faltering.
Song "Hotel Yorba" was one of the set's highlights, a tune that White called a "country song." He encouraged the audience to clap and sing along.
During "What's The Rumpus?" White had the audience sing "ohs" alongside his vocals and on encore song "Steady, As She Goes," White invited the crowd to sing an a cappella chorus before closing out the show.
The evening was defined by White's captivating gritty vocals, thunderous guitar licks and aggressive, in-your-face rock 'n' roll that ranged from solo Jack White tunes to those of past projects The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.
Toward the end of the show, White said, "I'm not gonna lie to you, I wanna play all night."
More:Jack White playing East Nashville's American Legion Post 82 to benefit venue. How to buy tickets
Jack White announces tour of 'pop-up' shows
Over the past few weeks, White played a show at Nashville's American Legion Post 82 to raise money for the venue to buy new sound equipment, then shows in Atlanta, Detroit, and a couple festivals in between.
He announced his Nashville show on Monday and sold tickets on Tuesday afternoon. Fans raced to buy tickets, which sold out in a matter of minutes.
On Tuesday afternoon, before his Nashville show, White also addressed his fans on social media.
He said, "Hello, and love to all the peoples of the world out there. Lotta folk asking about when we are going to announce 'tour dates,' well, we don't know what to tell you but the tour already started at the Legion a couple of weeks ago."
"People keep saying that these are 'Pop up shows' we've been playing, well, you can call them whatever you want, but we are on tour right now," he said. "These are the 'shows.'"
Stay tuned in to White's social media and website jackwhiteiii.com to see where he'll turn up next — the officially unofficial "No Name Tour" is now underway.
Jack White's Nashville Basem*nt East Set List
- Old Scratch Blues
- That's How I'm Feeling
- Morning at Midnight (snippet)
- It's Rough on Rats (If you're asking)
- Catch Hell Blues (The White Stripes)
- Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)
- Missing Pieces
- Top Yourself (The Raconteurs)
- Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes)
- Archbishop Harold Holmes
- What's the Rumpus?
- Bombing Out
- Underground
- Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs)
- Encore: Lazaretto, Black Math (The White Stripes), Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com.
