Last night (August 12) at Rogers Arena, Jack White showed he’s still at his best when he brings his music back to basics. Ironically, he’s touring in support of Boarding House Reach, his most divisive album yet. It falls outside of the blues, garage rock, punk, and country for which he is best known. Instead, Boarding House Reach draws from electronic music and hip hop. It’s full of ambient interludes, spoken lyrics, and even rapping.

Boarding House Reach is like a canvas splattered with mixed paints and found objects. But even its messiest songs, including “Respect Commander”, “Corporation”, and “Ice Station Zebra”, made more sense in a live context. This was because White is known for his extensive jams. He can even contort his most succinct songs into thrilling juggernaut freestyles. Still, “back to basics” is relative to his past band configurations. This time, he has ditched string- players and backup vocalists. Instead, his current live band consists drummer Carla Azar,  bassist Dominic Davis, and keyboardists Quincy McCrary and Neal Evans. Since he went solo, he reinvented “Hotel Yorba” as a bluegrass song. On last night’s rendition, he double-teamed the piano with Evans. Besides that, though, nothing about “Hotel Yorba” sounded old-timey. “Love Interruption” is usually rich with harmonies, but last night’s take was rougher. This was by no means a negative. And “Lazaretto” only gained intensity in its completely guitar-and-keys-driven form.

Jack White live in Vancouver. Photo by David James Swanson

“Cannon” sounded menacing, pounding, and enormous as always. It did even back when only Jack and Meg played it. (That says something about the power the White Stripes were able to muster.) White went hands-free for “Humoresque”, which starts almost like a lullaby. He dusted off some songs he doesn’t play often including the Dead Weather’s ghastly, grooving “I Cut Like a Buffalo” and the White Stripes’ “The Same Boy You’ve Always Known” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You’re Told)”. “Freedom at 21” was one of the night’s only flat notes. The song’s low rumbling and bass-y speak-sing vocals never translate well live. Along with “Ice Station Zebra”, White’s encore included “Icky Thump”, “Connected by Love”, and finally, “Seven Nation Army”. “Connected by Love” was notable for its cheesy background visuals. They called to mind E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hands also met like in The Creation of Adam but in front of exploding planets.

White’s enforced use of Yondr pouches on this tour has almost been as big of a talking point as the shows themselves. Each patron had to place their phone in a case that only venue staff could unlock at the end of the night. Besides having had a harder time meeting up with friends and not knowing the time, no one seemed to mind.

White appeared to have been in a good mood all night. Out of the three times he’d played Vancouver since 2012, he’d never been so talkative. He bantered and smiled as he played. He didn’t only bow goodnight and walk offstage with hardly a word. Before the band left, he encouraged fans to vote for the Vancouver Canucks to bring back the classic Flying V jersey for the team’s upcoming 50 th season. Maybe White was in a good mood because he had the crowd’s full attention. Or maybe he was in a good mood because he picked up some bargains at Zulu Records or ate a satisfying meal at Fable Diner. (He was spotted at both Vancouver establishments earlier that day.)

In the end, why Jack White was in such a good mood was irrelevant. What mattered was that fans at what was his first Vancouver arena show felt the benefits. White’s performance was a bold reminder that his recordings and his live shows differ vastly. They have since the White Stripes, and they continue to today. Even critics of his recent amorphous sonic dalliances.

review by Leslie Chu