November 17th, First Direct Arena, Leeds.

[tomhkr]

Agreed with that has been said already the set just didn't work and after the first two songs I was fearing the worst. It did improve throughout the set and the encore was great. I thought the venue as an arena is one of the best I have been to. A lot better than the ice hockey style arenas.

[Scarlet Siren]

In the pub 15 mins from the venue. Getting in about eight. Can wait for the
Next three days. 3 shows and lots of beer.

I like your style. I have to say that the Leeds show was the worst I've seen him at. Venue & Crowd play a part in that. But if you're gonna play arenas then you have to do an arena show. If you're playing theatres then play theatre shows. Didn't work for me.

Would you please expand on what wasn't working?

Crowd, venue, set list.......Jack. Didn't do it for me. I've seen him many times and it was poor. Sorry

Sorry to hear that. I was supposed to go but it was a hassle to get there from Brussels. Going to Glasgow, fingers crossed I'll be better

[uncarvedbloke]

Overall I enjoyed the show but it did veer into over indulgent territory at times, not being a fan of blue lighting either didn't help.
My head still hurts cos it was SO loud, that venue has a monster PA.

[quixoticwax]

Just thought that I would be the voice of dissent and add that I thought it was a pretty good show!

I was lucky enough to be right on the barrier but I could imagine that being at the back of the arena is no way to experience Jack White. Yes, it is frustrating that he hasn't done a full UK tour of smaller venues but there most likely just wasn't the time for it. There was a good selection of songs played and it was good to see Jack in a talkative mood and cracking a few jokes about Scottish devolution. Does anybody else think that he was maybe a little drunk?

I agree that the audience were quite reserved but Jack seemed to have a good time. Nothing too crazy or memorable happened by Jack White standards but I wouldn't say it was a poor performance by any means. I saw him at Bridlington Spa in 2012 which was a better venue but the performance seemed lackluster compared to last night.

I think the key issue is that he's just not an arena act and if he tried to pull some kind of KISS style pyrotechnics off it would lose the magic. You need to be able to see his facial expressions and his subtle interactions with the band members.

Here's hoping for some smaller academy / club sized Dead Weather shows early next year!

[buttonsandapples]

I'm going to deviate from the consensus and say that I thought last night's show was incredible!

I was also right on the barrier and feel that I had some advantage being so close. I attended with quixoticwax and we feel that being close enough to see the small nuances in the performance made for amazing viewing!

Granted, I do agree that the second half was much more intense and certainly benefited from a number of crowd pleasing songs but altogether, the whole performance seemed much more 'alive' than the previous show I attended (Blackpool 2012).

It's Jack's eccentricity that I love and I think that really came through last night!Also great to hear some old favourites like 'Astro' and 'Screwdriver'. I wasn't overly fussed about the venue but I do prefer smaller shows.

Overall, awesome!:D

Also, I've just come across this forum, great place so far!

[suebee]

Leeds was my 5th JW show, and not the best, but still fantastic. Jack commented about us up in the balcony being subdued and supping coffees, but you try just standing up there, it's really steep and narrow. Plus drunken students staggering around slopping their booze, pushing past us to go pee every few minutes was distracting. The Arena was characterless - Hammersmith July 2014 was the best, most intense show I've seen (yet).

[destijl]

Leeds was my 5th JW show, and not the best, but still fantastic. Jack commented about us up in the balcony being subdued and supping coffees, but you try just standing up there, it's really steep and narrow. Plus drunken students staggering around slopping their booze, pushing past us to go pee every few minutes was distracting. The Arena was characterless - Hammersmith July 2014 was the best, most intense show I've seen (yet).

I agree with the Hammersmith bit but it wasn't a good show. It didn't work. First few rows I get that it would. But if you're there then, as my wife would say "size doesn't matter". I saw Pearl Jam in the same venue and they were awesome but then again they are an Arena band. I wish I'd gone to see Robert Plant at the Academy, which was on the same day.

Anyone who knows me, either here, the vault or in Leeds would know that I love JayDub but the gig was.....SHIT