Jack White thrills Olympia audience

By Walter J. Lyng, October 5th, 2012

Jack White has been no stranger to Montreal over the last decade, visiting on several occasions, touring with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs or The Dead Weather. Ironically, although White’s most recent appearance on Tuesday at the Olympia was billed as a solo performance, his set was one of the most musically complex he’s ever delivered in this city, thanks largely to his phenomenal back-up band.
Clearly excited, the crowd was electric as it waited for White’s arrival on stage, giving a tremendous ovation to opening act Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three, who started off the night with an expertly-played throwback set of bluegrass and folk, complete with washboards, harmonicas and kazoos.
When Jack White took to the stage, he did so along with a dapperly-dressed drummer, bassist, guitarist, slide guitarist and piano/organ/keyboard player – his days of minimalist garage rock seemingly long behind him. Awash in blue light, White and co. started the set with seminal White Stripes track Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, the first of several Stripes songs that would be played.
If fans only wanted to hear White Stripes classics the way they were originally recorded and played (as I’m sure a few them did, based on the number of red jeans spotted), they may have been mildly disappointed, although I for one found these new takes on songs I’ve heard so many times before to be refreshing and original. Interestingly, even the songs from White’s debut solo record Blunderbuss were performed with a bit of a live twist, either sped up or slowed down, seemingly depending on White’s mood. 
In typical cagey fashion, White barely addressed the fans all night, throwing out only a few cursory words, but that’s always been part of the mystique.
In total, White played a very loud hour and a half, breathing new life into his expansive catalogue and proving his viability as a ‘solo’ artist.