New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
‘It is a great opportunity to host one of the greatest guitar players of all time’
Inside Jack White’s record-setting, pop-up show at Toad’s Place in New Haven
Around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a crowd of hundreds snaked down the side of Toad's Place — extending nearly two blocks.
The crowd, decked out in Third Man Records and various band shirts, were among the lucky group that scored tickets to Jack White's pop-up concert at the 1,000-person-capacity room of Toad's Place in New Haven
Last week, White announced his return to Connecticut with a pop-up show on Sept. 10 at the historic venue on York Street. Announced on Sept. 5, the show went on sale the next day and sold out in three and a half minutes, according to Brian Phelps, owner of Toad's Place. Phelps said that the show set “a new alltime record” for the fastest-selling show there.
Inside the club, the crowd buzzed in anticipation of seeing an artist who hasn't played in the state since his 2007 The White Stripes performance at the Chevrolet Theatre (nowToyota Oakdale Theatre) in Wallingford, according to concert tracking website setlist.fm. Sheer Mag, a group out of Philadelphia who put out their latest album on White's Third Man Records label, opened the show with a 30-minute set that blended elements of punk and blues rock.
As the clock struck 9:15 p.m., White and his band stepped out to the packed crowd. For the next hour and 45 minutes, White and his bandmates pulled out song after song from White's deep discography.
A barrage of songs from White's new album, “No Name” opened the evening. The album was initially given to customers at his Third Man Records store in a plain white sleeve in July. The album was officially announced at the end of July, with vinyl copies being sent to select independent record stores at the beginning of August — a surprise mirrored by the announcement format of his ongoing tour dates.
Instead of announcing a full set of tour dates, White has opted to announce intimate, club shows shortly in advance of the performances for this tour. This current batch of dates included shows in New Jersey and Massachusetts as well.
White bounced from side to side all evening — frequently chatting with drummer Patrick Keeler and bassist Dominic Davis in between songs while popping over stage left to keyboardist Bobby Emmett. Included in the setlist for the evening were versions of “I Think I Smell a Rat” and “The Hardest Button to Button” by The White Stripes, “Broken Boy Soldier” by The Raconteurs and “I Cut Like a Buffalo” by The Dead Weather.
Ranked No. 32 on Rolling Stone's 2023 list of the 250 greatest guitar players of all time, White showed throughout the Toad's gig why he earned that distinction. On songs like 2014's “High Ball Stepper” and the 2018 track “Why Walk a Dog?,” White unleashed blistering blues rock on the audience.
“It is a great opportunity to host one of the greatest guitar players of all time to Toad's,” Phelps said in an emailed statement. “His legendary status in the music world goes without question.”
To close out the main set, White led the ensemble through a rendition of The Raconteurs' “Steady As She Goes,” which included a call-and-response of “are you steady now?” from the crowd.
Following a 15-minute encore which included “Lazaretto,” the title track off White's 2014 album, White capped off the evening with the anthemic “Seven Nation Army” — the multi-platinum The White Stripes song that made White a household name.
White's tour continues onto Cambridge, Mass., on Wednesday for a sold-out show at The Sinclair.