“We’ve tricked people”: the two live shows that gave The White Stripes imposter syndrome
Seeing The White Stripes play live is well and truly a sight to behold, as in what world can just two people produce such a noise?
Together, Jack White and Meg White were able to create a sound that was unlike anything that people had previously stumbled across. It was rock, but not as we knew it, layered but also stripped back, heavy but bordering on electronic, not rap or spoken word, but lyrics that were sung at speed and intricately put together.
Their records alone were incredibly exciting to listen to, but the fact that they were able to take that sound and then project it onto the stage showed just how much of a generational talent both artists were. Going on to the biggest festival stages as a duo, and ensuring that crowds still left such open spaces satisfied that they had heard your brilliant music was no mean feat, but you best believe The White Stripes pulled it off. It’s hard to believe, then, that there are some live bands so good that they made Jack White feel as though he didn’t deserve to be on the stage.
I suppose, what would the creative industry be without a little bit of imposter syndrome every now and then? It’s something that all artists are subject to, and so if you’re going to experience it, you may as well experience it because of the very best musicians out there. That’s what Jack White did, as there were two live shows in particular that made him feel as though he shouldn’t be on the stage at all.
The first show was Bob Dylan, as White found himself enamoured by the folk icon’s presence. “I saw Dylan play in St Andrew’s Hall in Detroit two or three years ago,” he recalled. “There was only 1000 people in that place.” Of course, the number didn’t matter, regardless of whether Dylan was playing in front of 100, 1000 or 1,000,000 people, he always puts on an exceptional show.
His approach to playing live music evolved over time until it became something that bordered on improvisational. Leonard Cohen described a Bob Dylan concert as a “strange event” as his connection to his songs came in different shapes and forms. Dylan didn’t just play hit after hit, he would find ways into his classics via backdoors that only he knew about, starting out with a time signature or chord, and slowly revealing what it was a representation of in the meantime.
The other group that Jack White felt somewhat intimidated by was The Rolling Stones, who he saw perform after The White Stripes supported them. “And we warmed up for The Rolling Stones recently,” he said, before reflecting on watching a band who made a name for themselves by being one of the most engaging and exciting live bands of all time.
There are very few people who can hold a candle to Mick Jagger as a frontman, even his own band knew it. Keith Richards, despite their differences on occasion, once said that he didn’t know why Jagger sometimes felt jealous of other artists and performers (cough, cough, David Bowie) when he was undoubtedly the best around. Richards said, “The fact is, Mick could deliver ten times more than Bowie in just a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, singing ‘I’m a Man’. Why would you want to be anything else if you’re Mick Jagger? Is being the greatest entertainer in show business not enough?”
Jack White seemingly agreed. When he stood side stage watching The Rolling Stones perform, he couldn’t help but think he didn’t belong in the same spotlight as them. “I can’t believe that we’ve tricked people into letting this two-piece band get to this point,” he concluded. “I’d never seen them before. I was impressed.”
