White Stripes lay it down for Opera House crowd
By Sarah Rodman/ Music Review
Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - Updated: 12:15 PM EST
If somebody was going to bring the clatter and thrash of rock 'n' roll back to the Opera House, who better than the White Stripes?
Last night in the first of a sold-out three-night stand, the Detroit blues-rock duo played a taut 75-minute set that was exhilaratingly rancorous.
Like a mad wizard, leader Jack White careened from guitar to piano to marimba in service of his primal yet supremely tuneful muse while partner Meg held down a thunderous bottom with her signature loose, yet much improved, internal metronome on drum kit, timpani and bongos. And in a sweet turn, a third person, a young girl from the front row, was invited to sit onstage for most of the show and bang a tambourine for a few numbers.
Though White appeared on the edge of screaming himself out of the melody line on ``The Hardest Button to Button'' and ``Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground,'' he more than compensated with alchemical guitar soloing.
Keeping the banter to a minimum, the pair threw themselves into a clutch of songs from most of their records but favored their transformative recent release ``Get Behind Me Satan.''
They swung hard into the urgent, hitching shuffle of ``My Doorbell,'' and White peeled off triumphal squeals of guitar on ``I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself.'' Other highs included the ominous advancing guitar riffs of ``Seven Nation Army'' and the exuberant singalong chorus of ``Hotel Yorba.''
For two folks with such a minimalist sound, the White Stripes sure make a mighty glorious racket.
The White Stripes, the Opera House, Boston, last night, tonight and tomorrow.
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