Jack White Blasts the North Bay with Blues Rock Power

It’s an early autumn Thursday evening in Sonoma County here on the 3rd of October, though a wicked heat wave elevated the temperature into the mid-90s earlier in the day. But the elevation has thankfully helped cool it down into the 70s as showtime nears at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. There was a recent buzz in the Bay Area that guitar icon Jack White would play a show in San Francisco on his small venue pop-up tour (which materializes with a Friday show at the Great American Music Hall). Still, few expected an extra show in the North Bay.

The $125 tickets for the 700-capacity theater reportedly sold out in less than a minute, making it a hot ticket indeed. But kudos to White for also setting aside about 10 percent of the tickets at a $25 price for students, helping to broaden the demographic at this all-ages show. It’s also refreshing to see a big-time rock star consciously decide to value the experience over the profits by playing in small venues. White announced his strategy on Instagram in August when he posted a message with his thoughts on the tour:

“We will mostly be playing at small clubs, backyard fetes, and a few festivals here and there to cover expenses… I also want to walk through orchard fields and grab apples off of trees at will and fill my belly full of that fruit if the desire strikes me. I’m looking for that cool breeze, you know? Lots of love and rock and roll to you all and you are blessed for giving that love to others. We hope that we see you out on the road soon, if not let’s get coffee and a slice of pie sometime? Music is sacred,” White mused, signing off as “Johnny Guitar”.

Music is sacred for the many fans who view rock ‘n’ roll as their religion, so it’s also no surprise that Jack White took offense when Donald Trump’s campaign appropriated the White Stripes‘ “Seven Nation Army” for a campaign video. White promised legal action over the misappropriation of his and Meg White’s song in a social media post and quickly followed through.

“This machine sues fascists,” White wrote in an Instagram post that announced the lawsuit in September. It’s inspiring to see artists like Jack White stand up for democracy against fascism at this critical time for America, what with Trump having already threatened to be a dictator if he can weasel back into power. Rock ‘n’ roll has long been a medium for taking a principled stand against the powers that be, from the anti-war movement of the 1960s into the 2020s, where it seems about 99 percent of the rock community is opposed to everything that Trump and his delusional MAGA cult movement stand for.

Taking on the alter ego of “Johnny Guitar” makes it seem like White is also embracing another old-school concept symbolized by Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”, one of the original rock ‘n’ roll classics about a man ”who never ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like a ringin’ a bell.” White’s career arc has included an intriguing array of projects, bursting onto the scene with the White Stripes around the turn of the millennium and then branching out with the Raconteurs, the Dead Weather, and diverse solo albums over the past decade. White has also become a musical impresario with his Third Man Records label, helping catalyze the vinyl revival.

All of this has positioned White as a renaissance man here in 2024, including a new album in No Name that stands out as one of the year’s best releases. It’s one of those records that delivers on the first spin with vibrant songs and vintage tones, inspiring the urge to turn up the volume and spin it again. 

The Phoenix Theater here in Petaluma also doubles as a non-profit community center that hosts youth for playing music, skateboarding, doing homework, or just lounging around. Some blues fans are disappointed to learn that the venue has no liquor license, however they find they can discover a great Old West style whiskey bar across the street named Barber Lee Spirits. The bar is also a craft distillery that makes its own spirits on-site, and their whiskey sour is like a nectar of the gods that hits the spot just right for a pregame cocktail.

The Beatles’ classic “Tomorrow Never Knows” plays on the PA at the theater as the 9:00pm showtime nears, seemingly alluding to rock ‘n’ roll’s enduring power to inspire hope and positive change. “That’s How I’m Feeling” from the new album is an early highlight with crisp mid-tempo verses that lead to high-energy choruses. It looks like White is feeling plenty good, and the audience is clearly fired up and psyched to catch the guitar maestro in this intimate setting. 

“It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking” is another gem from the new album that further cranks the energy with Jack White’s hot slide guitar work. Not just a slick guitarist, White is a genuine tone scientist as one of the modern rock masters of dialing in old-school gritty blues tones that sound so good here in the small theater setting. Drummer Patrick Keeler, bassist Dominic Davis, and keyboardist Bobby Emmett are all on point, too, as the quartet gels with vibrant blues rock power on a heady jam as White sings of how “there’s too much, but not enough for me.” The more easygoing sound of “What’s Done Is Done” from 2018’s Boarding House Reach finds the band toning it down for a slow blues but with a sweet gospel vibe featuring White on acoustic guitar and Emmett starring on some deep organ runs. 

The range of bluesy stylings throughout the set is a testament to White’s artistic diversity, touching on various sonic vibes. The White Stripes’ “Cannon” is a hard-rocking blast of down-and-dirty blues power that has the audience rocking out, while the new “Underground” features an uplifting major key sound with a sensational slide guitar tone reminiscent of Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin’s “Traveling Riverside Blues”. This is one of the great guitar tones in rock history, and White has it dialed in for what feels like an instant classic, powering a stellar jam that has the dance floor grooving while the band rocks out with infectious energy.

Jack White also employs a vintage slide tone on an electrifying rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Stones in My Passway” and the White Stripes’ “Catch Hell Blues” with a heavier approach. Here, he seems like a mad genius tone scientist, using some wild special effects as the rhythm section keeps pushing the beat while White defies time and space with freaky notes stretching the sonic landscape.

The ever-anthemic “Seven Nation Army” gets the crowd clapping and chanting in time, just like it does at college football games nationwide. The visceral effect in a smaller space like this is genuinely electrifying. It is a springboard for the group to open up the jam as they take the big groove to another level for a climactic conclusion to the main set. The crowd keeps chanting and clapping for more after the quartet leaves the stage, almost like the audience at a Grateful Dead show when they’d close with “Not Fade Away”.

The group soon returns and gets back to rocking out in a big way on the fiery “Archbishop Harold Holmes” from the new album. “Are you ready for my message?” White sings while throwing down a syncopated riff to power a killer groove. “What’s the Rumpus” is another winner from No Name, with a hot riff over a tight beat as White sings of defying genres and “feeling that the truth’s become opinion these days.”  

White digs back into the White Stripes’ repertoire to close the show with high-energy jams on “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and “Ball and Biscuit”. The latter tune features a signature lyric as White sings, “It’s quite possible that I’m your third man, girl / But it’s a fact that I’m a seventh son,” before using the track as a platform for one more molten blast of sensational blues power.

“You’ve been incredible, and I’ve been Johnny Guitar!” White exclaims as he bids the audience farewell. Some artists have difficulty weaving new material into a setlist alongside older fan favorites without a noticeable drop in energy level, but that hasn’t been the case here. The songs from No Name feature a strong vintage sound blended with a fresh vibe that fits so well alongside the White Stripes’ classics. The seamless energy builds the case for the new album as a strong contender for the Top 10 albums of 2024 while demonstrating that White remains an artist at the top of his game.

White is again moved to express his discontent with Donald Trump’s foul domain a week later after Trump insults Detroiters during a speech in White’s hometown of Detroit. “What kind of political idiot insults Detroit while SPEAKING TO DETROITERS??? Guess what, Trump, YOU AIN’T LIKE US. You’re gonna lose Michigan BIGLY, you wanna-be dictator orange clown. Go back to your fascist rallies,” White quickly responded the next day.

Standing up to the “orange clown” continues to win solidarity for Jack White in utilizing his pop culture platform to speak out against the fascist MAGA movement, which now poses an existential threat to America. White’s post about Trump’s Detroit speech won him comments like “Thank you for your sanity, Jack! It’s a breath of fresh air,” plus “As a former Ann Arborite and Native Michigander, I can proudly say that Jack White is a National Treasure,” and “Not all musicians speak up and use their platform when democracy is threatened. Jack White does. Much respect.”

Hail hail, rock n’ roll, and long live democracy!