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 Entertainment | May 2005 
The White Stripes Show Their Dark Side
 Eliza Barclay - The Herald Mexico
| | Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes |
Though rock n' roll common sense says that every rock band needs a bassist, the voluminous sound produced by Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes Saturday night at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City put that wisdom to the test.
The two-person band - Jack on vocals, guitar, piano and marimba and Meg on drums - rocked the several thousand chilangos, or capital residents, who came out to see the Detroit natives tear through a varied repertoire of new and old songs.
The White Stripes have gained international notoriety for their beguiling garage rock-blues style and fresh-faced image complete with a strict adherence to red, white and black clothing. Certainly MTV's regular rotation of the "Fell In Love With A Girl" video from the 2001 "White Blood Cells" album helped to secure a healthy audience in Mexico City, the capital and largest city of a country where the band had never before toured.
The first two shows of the tour in Monterrey and Guadalajara clearly warmed up The White Stripes for Saturday night's show; Jack White released a full stream of searing guitar solos and riffs while Meg pounded her drum kit with a pronounced ferocity, their giving off showers of sparks.
Clad in black mariachi pants and jacket with silver trimmings, sporting a wily moustache and tangled chin-length hair, and topped off with a peculiar black hat, Jack White's entrance onstage was cold, almost menacing, but seemingly appropriate to illustrate the band's dark, new album "Get Behind Me Satan," to be released June 7.
As the two ripped into "Black Orchid," the album's first single, Meg, to Jack's right, dressed in a white blouse and tight black leather pants, her long dark hair also in a tangled mass, emitted a friendlier and droll vibe through her bright eyes. A large illustrated backdrop hung behind them in their signature colors featuring an apple that seemed to hint at Eve's temptation in the Garden of Eden and other dark forces at play on "Get Behind Me Satan."
Featured prominently on the playlist were several other new songs from the forthcoming fifth album including "My Doorbell" a light piano tune with a catchy refrain. Evidence of the influence of country music darling Loretta Lynn with whom Jack collaborated with on her 2004 album "Van Lear Rose" was in full array on "Little Ghost," a lilting song with twangy guitar riffs.
By the end of the set, Jack had warmed up considerably to the crowd, shedding his hat and jacket and his dark persona as he banged and tossed his hair to reveal the occasional, giddy smile. The audience responded, singing along on a couple hit songs and lifting their cellphone cameras high in the air to record quick images of the charismatic duo. The White Stripes finally left the stage after a three-song encore, leaving fans to stumble away, their ears ringing from the colossal sound generated by just two dynamic musicians. |
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