White Stripes. Ally Palace. We miss the opener ‘Black Math’ as the cloakroom attendant has run out tickets. Still we manage to get a prime position behind 4,000 others for early crowd pleaser ‘Dead leaves and the dirty grown’. All I can see of the band is a giant silhouette of Meg White, projected on the vast walls from the Blitz-like lights of the venue. Despite the odd (whisper it) DUFF NOTE on ‘…Rat’, Jack proceeds to release his ripping falsetto and distorted, crunching blues riffs of Little Room. Ball and Biscuit is an eight minute mash of rasping vocals and dexterious blues jam taking in everyone from Muddy Waters to B.B. King and Jimmy Page. Meg receives perhaps the largest cheer of the night when she steps to the mic for ‘In the Cold, Cold Night’. Though the song holds well for the main part, on occasions Jack’s guitars prove too raw for his sister’s soft vocals and Hammond organ, and she temporarily slips out of tune towards the end.
The evening sees a host of covers. Besides Dusty Springfield classic ‘I just don’t know what to do with myself’, the Stripes produce their own takes on Dylan’s ‘Lovesick’ and Son House’s delta blues classic ‘Death letter’, which sees Jack trade in his custom made Octagonal- shaped Gibson for an electro- acoustic Resonator.
‘Same boy’ and ‘We’re gonna be friends’ display the tender side to the Detroit outfit, contrasting the raw intensity of ‘Offend in every way’ and crowd- favourite ‘The hardest button to button’.
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The Stripes encore is electric, even the soulless venue of the Alexandra is brought to life. ‘Fell in love with a girl’ is slowed down and sexed up in the style of Joss Stone, whilst Jack’s distorted riffs on Pretty good looking (for a girl) are held together by Meg’s Ronnettes- style rhythms. Meg receives another rousing cheer for her drum part on Hello Operator (picture Garth in Wayne’s World) and all that is left is Seven Nation Army. The show’s zenith, Jack’s guitar’s more than make up for the lack of a bassist, and the floor reverberates into a hypnotising frenzy. As the seven-note riff is sped up and slowed down, Meg is a true genius to control this song, and the tightness of this double act becomes clearly apparent. As the song ends on a wail of feedback and a ‘God Bless You’ from the Whites; the Stripes leave to a well earned rapturous ovation.
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