After the success of 2003's "Elephant," the normally introverted Jack White, frontman of The White Stripes, had a brief fling with celebrity. He dated Ren?©? Zellweger, appeared in "People Magazine," and crashed his 'Vette. All he needed was to check into rehab to complete the "Dumb Things Celebrities Gotta Do" checklist.
But don't get the wrong idea; you're not going to see Jack White partying with Paris Hilton anytime soon. In fact, that probably couldn't be further from the truth. Give The White Stripes new album, "Get Behind Me Satan," one listen and you'll see that this band just wasn't made for these times.
The first thing you notice when listening to "Get Behind Me Satan" is the relatively sparse use of Jack's trademark electric guitar. The Stripes have filled the void left by the guitar with an eclectic mix of instruments, including piano, marimba, tom-tom drums, and acoustic guitar. In some ways the album sounds like an attempt to weed out real fans from the "You know, I really like 'Seven Nation Army,' but dude, what's with all this blues?" fan.
This new expanded set of instruments and musical experimentation probably has driven away many bandwagon jumpers, but it's also expanded the Stripes' sound. Normally, when critics talk about maturing sounds, they mean futuristic, Radiohead-like excursions. The White Stripes have done the opposite; they've traveled to the past. "Little Ghost" is a bluegrass number that sounds like it was first played on a porch in Appalachia. The girl Jack is singing to on songs like "White Moon" and "Take, Take, Take" is not his ex Ren?©?¬ like some might think, but Rita Hayworth, the 1940s starlet.
"My Doorbell" is probably the most delightful and giddy song they have recorded. It is pretty much Meg pounding on her drums and Jack pounding on his piano and asking why you won't ring his doorbell. The video to "My Doorbell," a black-and-white clip, shows Jack and Meg performing for an audience of little kids in an old Victorian house.
The innocence of the song and the video capture what The White Stripes love about the past, a time when things were simple, innocent, and nothing mattered but the music. Of course, you could argue that this version of the past never existed, but why would you want to ruin all their fun?
These songs don't belong in a capacity-filled stadium; they are at home on an old dusty vaudeville stage. Luckily for Boston fans of the band, the White Stripes will have a chance to play in their natural habitat for three shows this week at the Boston Opera House.
The opulent theater, built in 1928, was constructed as a tribute to American vaudeville, a type of theater that included a variety of acts, from magic to music to comedy. The building, which had fallen into disrepair after closing in 1990, was recently renovated and re-opened after being added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's register.
When the theater was renovated, they made a special effort to uncover and restore as many of the original ornate fixtures and murals as possible. These lengths make stepping inside the gilded lobby of the Opera House like being transported back to the early part of the last century.
The White Stripes will be the second band to play the Opera House since its re-opening (Sigur Ros played there on September 15). Jack and Meg promise to do more than just play their songs; they want to put on a full-blown show.
Their live act has a spontaneity lacking in most modern rock concerts. In fact, the duo do not use set lists. Instead, Jack shouts out songs as he sees fit and Meg follows along. They also have a reputation for improvisation; a song will sound different every time it's performed.
The White Stripes want to bring the audience into their world where there's nothing to worry about except what's happening on stage. When they play the Opera House, the White Stripes want to bring the audience back to when we were all little kids and the only thing we cared about was the two grown-ups playing their instruments.
On his Web site, Jack White worried, "I know I wouldn't be able to decide whether to spend my money on tickets to the White Stripes show in town, or tickets to the 'Dukes of Hazzard' movie starring Jessica Simpson, so I surely don't know how you kids do." Jack shouldn't worry, it's an easy decision.
