The final appearance The White Stripes ever made on stage
All good things aren’t meant to last forever. Even if it seems like there’s no way that a band’s momentum can stop, there’s usually a moment when they realise that enough is enough and it’s time to hang it up for good. Although The White Stripes were pretty much done the minute that they wrapped up their tour for Icky Thump, seeing them on the Conan O’Brien show for the final time is still one of the most emotional performances that they ever played together.
Because when you think about it, Jack White didn’t want to stop for a minute. Looking at what he was doing with The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, he was more than happy to be creative in any medium that he wanted without Meg, but there was always a certain magic that came whenever she was behind the drumkit.
Before anyone criticises her drumming skills, it’s important to remember that being a great percussionist doesn’t require John Bonham-level technical prowess. What matters is how a drummer fits within the song. With The White Stripes’ music often focused on stripping things back to basics, her raw, unpolished playing was crucial to their sound. That sense of reckless abandon brought a purity to the music, setting them apart from other garage rock acts.
Outside of her drumming, her singing was criminally underrated in the group’s catalogue. While she never wanted to be a frontwoman by any stretch, there’s a certain charm on ‘In the Cold Cold Night’ that sounds closer to what Maureen Tucker did on ‘After Hours’ by The Velvet Underground. She could even match Jack’s insanity note-for-note on tunes like ‘Rag and Bone’, but her anxiety got the better of her when it came to performing live.
And why not? They had become much bigger than anyone could have predicted, and when there are only two of you onstage, the pressure is on every time you make a move to make sure the audience is still having a good time.
But Conan O’Brien was always a friend, and with both of them strapping on guitars, their farewell performance of ‘We’re Going To Be Friends’ is both sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. Before they even come out, you can even tell that O’Brien is a little bit choked up, referring to them as “our friends” before those opening notes start.
While it was probably a relief for Meg to finally bow out of the music business, it’s easy to see that Jack is not taking it well. He knows that his days with his musical baby are about to become a thing of the past, and as he gets to the end of the song, it’s almost like he’s trying to hold out every chord just a little bit longer to preserve the moment.
As much as some bands either fall out due to fights on tour or quietly announce their breakup well after the fact, all Stripes fans should consider themselves lucky that we at least have this footage. It’s a bittersweet moment for sure, but if Meg had to leave The Stripes behind for her health, it’s downright heartwarming that we got one final wave goodbye.
