By nerds for nerds. Jack White returned to Prague
For almost eight years, the Czech fans of Jack White had to wait until their idol looked at them again. However, one of the most awarded musicians on the planet finally arrived, and even if we would probably all prefer to put together his setlist ourselves, because there is so much to choose from, it was once again an unforgettable evening.
Live: Jack White
place: Forum Karlín, Prague
date: July 5, 2022
Support, support: Doctor Victor
set list: Take Me Back, Fear Of The Dawn, Black Math (The White Stripes song), The White Raven, What’s Done Is Done, Fell In Love With A Girl (The White Stripes song), If I Die Tomorrow, You Don’t Understanding Me (The Raconteurs song), Hi-De-Ho, High Ball Stepper, Eosophobia, That Black Bat Licorice, That Was Then (This Is Now), A Martyr For My Love For You (The White Stripes song), A Tree On Fire From Within, I Cut Like A Buffalo (The Dead Weather song), We’re Going To Be Friends (The White Stripes song), Ball And Biscuit (The White Stripes song), What’s The Trick?, Steady, As She Goes (song by The Raconteurs), Seven Nation Army (song by The White Stripes)
© Jack White
A few weeks ago I saw a funny video with Formula 1 drivers who were given the task of listing off the top of their heads all the world champions from the present day to the very beginnings of the championship. About fifty names. The only one who gave it flawlessly was Sebastian Vettel, himself a four-time holder of this title. “Well of course only Seb knew, he’s such a moron” said in response to this the eternally laughing colleague Daniel Ricciardo, also a former Red Bull driver. And it was far from the first time that someone titled him like that, his passion for the history of Formula 1 and the whole carousel around him is legendary. And I’m pretty sure that if you put fifty different guitars in front of Jack White, he’d probably be able to tell you the name, year of manufacture, and maybe even a medallion for each one. This is how he works.
© Jack White
It’s always fascinating to watch such nerds at work. And it doesn’t matter what field we are in. When you have a person in front of you who has a passion and is willing to submit their entire existence to it, it’s a joy to watch. Jack White is like that. And I see it in everything he does. It is no coincidence that in the book “40 years of Glastonbury – When the Saints March” by Vojtěch Lindaur, it is he who appears in almost all the years that the author visited. And no matter which of his bands he played at the Pilton farm, he always ranked among the best that could be seen at the world’s most famous festival that year, according to the writer. After all, there are only a few days, which means his next, this time secret, show there. And again he received a standing ovation.
© Jack White
“Just come and enter my Babylon,” as if he was appealing to everyone who at some point in their life at least fell for the sound of the guitar. “It’s my world, a little old-fashioned, but beautiful. And my rules apply here, so watch out.” he could continue the imaginary tour. Everything is a theme for him. Old musical instruments. Guitar effects. Access to releasing music on vinyl. His own label Third Man Records. Banning cell phones at his concerts. That the tour must not be long so that he does not lose contact with his children. And in years, an extreme inclination towards the last blue color. Blue is his clothes, the color of his hair, guitars, stage lighting and accompanying projections. In short, everything has to be perfect. This sometimes manic obsession is reflected in how good music Jack White makes. His albums are regularly placed in the annual charts, including ours, such as the novelty “Fear Of The Dawn”, which is already fulfilled by “Entering Heaven Alive” on July 22 (the current single “If I Die Tomorrow” could not be missed in Prague), it will certainly not be otherwise.
© Jack White
It is therefore quite shocking that a person of his size had to fit in just like in 2014 only to Forum Karlín. And it wasn’t even sold out! The area was about two-thirds full, the balconies remained completely closed. Maybe it’s just a reflection of the current simultaneous crises (economic, logistical, war and so on) that have had an effect on the resulting ticket sales, because he himself is an artist with whom, with everything he’s been through, we’d have in a normally functioning the world at least talk about the O2 arena. His concert was preceded by a performance by the local band Doctor Victor. Those visitors to big events certainly do not need to be introduced, after all they have already played in front of a number of stars of the first magnitude. They were given an over-the-top time slot in the Karlin music sanctuary, and the further we progressed into their set, the more their weaknesses became apparent. The singer Vojta Bureš does indeed have a well-rehearsed rock image, he performs well in all kinds of poses and plays the guitar brilliantly. However, he should work more on his pronunciation in the future, because although the hall was well-sounded, it was rather sporadic to understand what he was singing about. A lot of people got hooked on Prince’s “Purple Rain”.
© Jack White
Jack White kicked off the concert with the single “Taking Me Back” and basically hasn’t stopped since. He dragged out the songs, let them flow into each other and, except for a few moments, almost did not let the audience applaud, because something was always happening. He himself practically did not communicate with people, in the first part he gave them barely two smiles, he got a little bolder only at the end, when he felt that he was almost done, and he relaxed more. The guitars changed after almost every song, more than once the singer with his voice reminiscent of a raven’s croak sat down at the pleasantly creaking piano. The accompanying band, smaller in number than last time, played brilliantly, drummer Daru Jones, a two-time winner of the Grammy Award, earned the most attention for himself with his great playing. It was amazing to watch how he and Jack White only need to communicate with signs to already know what they want from the other. Sometimes just a look was enough.
© Jack White
And the principal himself sent a postcard to the crowd with almost everything he has done and what iconic riffs he composed. A lot was played from the current album, but space was also given to older solo songs, as well as the music of The Raconteurs, on this “Steady As She Goes” a solid party was started in the publication. And there was also a bit of The Dead Weather and of course The White Stripes, the comeback will never come. Highlights include “Hi-De-Ho”, “That Black Bat Licorice” and of course “Seven Nation Army”, which closed the night. A song that absolutely everyone knows, even if they may not even know that Mr. White is behind it. But surely each of the visitors would be able to set their own list of favorites, because that’s exactly the kind of people who gathered at the Forum. No random admirers, but true fans of his work, for whom the essence of rock ‘n’ roll in his music is what gets them out of bed every morning.
© Jack White
So, with permission, I would exceptionally like to use the same words as after the performance in 2014, because I can’t think of a better point this time, and secondly, it applies:
“They are musicians, great qualities are not discussed. Jack White is a genius. A living legend, with whom you can hardly distinguish whether he experienced his artistic peak ten years ago or is still waiting for it. And he is also a person, thanks to whom future generations they’ll be envious that we lived in his time. So it’s up to us to notice it in time and appreciate it before he’s dead.”