Austin Music Hall 1-24/25-2015

[BigBayBlue]

A few random thoughts on the Austin shows:

I enjoyed how Jack went from constantly combing his Elvis hair the first night to giving up and having wild hair on night two.

And speaking of hair, Lillie Mae's short hair cut made me do a double take. For a moment I though she might have been replaced so that she could support her own album. Glad to have been wrong. To me, she adds a lot to the Lazaretto songs. I won't miss her as much on Jack's next tour as I would have on this one.

It did seem to me that the dynamic between Lillie Mae and Jack has changed. Early in the tour I thought Jack played off of her on stage in a similar way to how he once did with Meg - and I wasn't alone, a lot of people speculated that they might be a thing. At the Austin shows, however, she was just another member of the band. Jack focused far more on Daru Jones. Probably just my imagination - not that it matters one way or the other.

Both shows were very good, but Jack seemed noticeably more energetic during the first show. Perhaps not coincidentally, he played almost half an hour longer night one than night two (even though the song count was nearly identical).

I am consistently amazed by how much variety he gets out of a given song. Of the nine songs he played both nights, all of them sounded at least a little different - and some (notable Steady as She Goes and High Ball Stepper) were very different arrangements. I don't know how the band keeps up with him, but they do.

It seems to me that the more Jack plays a song, the more likely he is to say (or shout) the lyrics rather than singing them - with my friends I refer to it as the Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground effect.

Thought it was interesting that Jack largely ignored his Blunderbuss album the first night but went deep into it night two.

I was surprised he never played Would You Fight for My Love considering it's one of Lazaretto's only two singles. Also would have liked to have heard Black Bat Licorice.

For all the complaints I read about the venue on Yelp, I had no problems. I was upstairs in the VIP area night one and on the floor night two, and had a great experience from both vantage points.

I did not care for Chicano Batman the first night, and outright hated them night two. Their bizarre use of tempo changes are almost comical. It makes the songs wildly in-cohesive. I did like their outfits though.

I realized this weekend that I can no longer enjoy Seven Nation Army live. Not because I don't like the song, I do, but because I'm too busy being disappointed that the show is about to end.

All I can think of for now.

[Kali Durga]

I realized this weekend that I can no longer enjoy Seven Nation Army live. Not because I don't like the song, I do, but because I'm too busy being disappointed that the show is about to end.

I got to that point last summer. And last night was one of many nights at which I started yelling "No, it's too soon!" when I saw his tech coming out with the Kay.

Wonder why it's been so long since he's ended a show with Goodnight, Irene. I miss that very much.

[cobytate]

it was a great weekend, and great to put a few faces to forum names. both shows were great, both posters are great, and personally i thought chicano batman was great.

I started yelling "No, it's too soon!" when I saw his tech coming out with the Kay.

i had the same reaction!

[DocSamThom]

I really wish I could've done both nights but certainly not disappointed with Sunday's performance. When it seemed the encore portion came way too soon I thought there'd be a chance he'd play a lot longer into the night. But then again, he seems to always leave us wanting more. Would love to have the chance to see him in Nashville. Jack White + Loretta Lynn = perfection.

[FredYidas]

Went to both shows and had a blast. Waiting in line was fun too because I met some great people and talked to some I had seen at previous shows. On Sunday I was in line next to MichaelRox. I've seen him on the boards a lot, so it was nice to actually meet him. I met a lot of people who were at their first Jack show, which I always like because I know they're going to be blown away.

I even made it into several of the photos from Saturday night. Including this one, where I'm the guy in the foreground:
http://jackwhiteiii.com/shows/austin-3/ ... how_00951/



If you squint just right it almost looks like Jack & I are having a moment. Or at least that's what I'll tell myself!