White Stripes Canada Reviews

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Well, so far I can only find a Vancouver review. Anyone seen any write-ups or setlists from the two northern shows thus far?

What's red, white and rocks Canada?

JENNIFER VAN EVRA

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

June 26, 2007 at 3:55 AM EDT

The White Stripes

At Deer Lake Park

in Burnaby, B.C., on Sunday

Half-heartedly is never how Jack and Meg White, together known as the White Stripes, do things. While most people celebrate anniversaries with a nice dinner, a bottle of bubbly or maybe a weekend away, the Detroit rockers opted for something a little more dramatic: an expansive 10th-anniversary Canadian tour that will take the pair to every single Canadian province and territory - Nunavut, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories - and a special anniversary show in Glace Bay, N.S., where Jack has family roots. (After that, they're heading south of the border to perform in all of 16 states they've never played before.) And, kicking off the tour at Deer Lake Park just outside of Vancouver, they're doing it in style.

Concertgoers had been looking outside with dread all day as the rain refused to ease. Just an hour before the gates opened, a rare thunderstorm even rumbled through. But as classic John Lee Hooker blues tunes were piped through the loudspeakers just moments before the White Stripes took the stage - candy-apple red, save for the black and white amps that had red Maple Leaves on them - the clouds began to lift and the sun emerged.

"We're not in Paris any more, Meg," Jack said with a wry smile as he strapped on his guitar and kicked off the set with the growling, distortion-heavy chords of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, the infectious opening track on the pair's landmark 2001 album White Blood Cells. From there, the two moved even further back into their catalogue with the ripping blues tune When I Hear My Name from their 1999 self-titled debut.

The pair's just-released Icky Thump has garnered both raves ("Hooray, something new!") and outrage ("Oh no, something new!") from critics. But the newer songs, many of which are closer to 1970s stadium-rock anthems than they are to the band's trademark stripped-down, blues-inspired rock, provided some of the show's most memorable moments. During the powerhouse title track, Meg hammered on her drum kit and Jack played the guitar and keys at the same time (no small feat) as the whole crowd sang and cheered when Jack belted out the rare overtly political line: "White Americans, what? Nothing better to do? Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too."

Starting with a gorgeous slide-guitar riff, Catch Hell Blues shifted into a Led Zeppelin-style powerhouse rock tune that saw Jack belting out Robert Plant-sized vocals, while a dense organ melody and Meg's thundering bass drum backed I'm Slowly Turning Into You - part love song, part realization that the traits we hate in others are often the ones we share.

"How you doin', British Columbia?" yelled Jack in the middle of a speedy rendition of Hotel Yorba, one of the many older White Stripes favourites the band performed as the crowd - which ranged from young hipsters to middle-agers - danced happily on the squishy, mud-soaked lawn. In true B.C. fashion, there was so much pot smoke emanating off the crowd, the park's squirrels will probably just chill out for the next day or two.

Whether he was facing his "sister" (they still call each other siblings even though it was found out years ago that they are actually a divorced couple) and singing into a microphone at the drum kit or playing it up for the audience, Jack - dressed in tight red pants and a black T-shirt - was a consummate performer. And while Meg - dressed in black pants, a white shirt and a black beret that Jack bought her in Vancouver - stayed seated behind her drum kit for most of the night, bopping her head back and forth like a little girl, she did step out just long enough to sing the sexy tune Cold Cold Night as Jack sat at her heels, quietly picking the song's sultry melody on his guitar.

The band is also known for playing covers, and Sunday's show was no exception. "Your beauty is beyond compare," sang Jack tenderly as Meg tapped on a cymbal at the beginning of the duo's take on the Dolly Parton song Jolene, which turned into a frantic jumble of guitar and drums as the lyrics became increasingly begging and desperate. Jack seemed like an old-time fire and brimstone preacher as he performed Fixin' to Die, the dark, pleading tune made famous by Bob Dylan.

The pair kicked off their encore with Seven Nation Army, arguably the band's most popular tune. As red lights flashed and strobes flickered, Jack jumped onto a riser at the back of the stage during a blistering version of Screwdriver, the first song the two composed together. The pair's lovely We're Going To Be Friends - a sweet song about being a kid and making a new friend at school, followed, along with an explosive cover of Burt Bacharach's I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself.

"We've got a big trip ahead of us, and we're glad to start it here. Very cool," said Jack before ending the night with the catchy Bo Weevil, in which he repeats, "I was lookin' for a home." At the end of the song, to the rapturous cheers of the 8,000-strong crowd (which adds up to half the population of Glace Bay, where the White Stripes will play in a couple of weeks), the two took an enormous British Columbia flag, climbed up onto the riser at the back of the stage and smiled broadly as they waved it.

With that, the pair wrapped up an evening that proved three things: that two people can make an incredible amount of sound given a set of drums, a guitar and amplification; that a 10th anniversary should be celebrated in style; and that they are welcome north of the 49th any time they please.

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Whites Stripes Play Free Show In Whitehorse Park

Tuesday June 26, 2007 @ 05:00 PM

By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Jack White plays at LePage park in Whitehorse (photo by Andrew Hoshkiw)

WHITEHORSE — At about 4 p.m. Monday, a call came that The White Stripes would be playing a free concert at LePage Park in downtown Whitehorse within an hour. Thinking it would be good karma, this reporter called the radio station, which in turn told everyone else.

An hour later, vans arrived with a small army of men in black suits, hats and red ties, who then quickly assembled the required sound equipment. The white amps bore a red maple leaf emblem.

LePage Park is tiny, measuring perhaps 15 metres by 15 metres, with a small, five-metre-wide circular stage. Despite this, nearly 1,000 people crammed into the space. There were fans of all sorts: young and old, mothers with babies, people walking their dogs and kids everywhere.

And then, at precisely 5:30, Jack and Meg White pushed their way through the crowd and on to the stage.

Jack, dressed all in black, strummed a white and red acoustic guitar while Meg played small hand drums, shakers and a tambourine.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Jack White and this is my big sister Meg White, right over here on tambourine," said Jack as the crowd roared to life.

With the simplified set-up, Jack's voice rang out as the dominant sound. Every note was as true as could be.

"Spent the day walking around Whitehorse today, everyone was so nice I couldn't believe it," Jack said before explaining that, since so few people got tickets for the main concert, they had decided to play in the park for everyone else.

The set included six songs: "Effect And Cause," "Hotel Yorba," "Black Jack Davey," "Suzy Lee," "A Martyr For My Love For You" and "Boweevil."

It was magical. They came out of nowhere, played and then disappeared into the crowd. Without a doubt, The White Stripes are the biggest band to ever hit Whitehorse. Playing this free gig will only further cement the legendary status they now hold with the townsfolk.

[Jaimoe]

Great stories.

This is a tour that will be talked about for many years in all parts of the country.

[Kanada Kev]

I love that shit. I have such an increased respect for Jack and Meg. I wish there were more successful acts out there that had their attitude.

Now, why was it that I passed on getting those pit tix to the Molson Amph? ::bang head on desk::

Edited June 27, 2007 by Guest

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Great White north

Sun Media drops in on Detroit blues-rock duo White Stripes' ambitious cross-Canada tour

By JANE STEVENSON

IQALUIT, Nunavut -- This map shows the route the White Stripes will take during their cross-Canada tour.

Canada's smallest capital city is "buzzing" over the arrival of Detroit blues-rock duo The White Stripes, who play the Arctic Winter Games Arena tonight as part of an ambitious cross-Canada tour.

"The town is buzzing about the show," said Nunavut rock singer and White Stripes opener Lucie Idlout, as she picked up her Toronto manager at the airport yesterday. "And there are a lot of people who are disappointed because they missed out on tickets. They sold out within 20 minutes."

So what can singer-guitarist Jack White and drummer Meg White expect when they arrive to play the most remote gig of their cross-Canada trek that began last Sunday night in Burnaby, B.C.?

For one, they might have a hard time sleeping. At this time of year the sun doesn't set until 11 p.m. and it's back up again shortly after 2 a.m.

"I'm totally used to it, I put tinfoil on my windows," admits Chris Windeyer, a native of Digby, N.S., who's a reporter for the weekly Nunatsiaq News, with a circulation of about 6,000.

Then there's the venue itself, formerly a hockey arena, which has a partially disappearing floor.

"It was built in maybe not the best of spots," said Windeyer.

"Part of the floor is sinking into the tundra."

Iqaluit's current population is 6,500, so you could say roughly one in 10 residents will get to go to the White Stripes concert tonight. (Although, Idlout says the venue could hold five times as many as that but only 600 tickets were sold due to fire marshal restrictions.)

"They would be the biggest name as far as I know that have come here," said Windeyer. "Blue Rodeo was here about 12 years ago but that's basically it. There's an arts festival going on right now that has some circumpolar artists (from Greenland, Alaska and Norway), they're really good but they're not household names. People basically are just anticipating the chance to see a really good rock show."

The White Stripes played a gig in Yellowknife last night and performed in Whitehorse the night before, so Canada's North will be familiar by the time they perform tonight.

In an earlier interview with Sun Media, Jack White said he and Meg will be playing "a lot" of material from their week-old new album, Icky Thump, but will change the set nightly. The goal is to give every city a different experience.

"We definitely don't want the show in Yellowknife, for example, to be the same as the show we play in Saskatchewan," said Jack. "We want it to be a totally different vibe every night. And I think if you come to more than one show, you shouldn't see the same show. We can do that. There's only two of us, we can change a song mid-stream and go into a different song, at will. You can't do that with a bigger band."

[nellie]

nice!! lookin' forward to the molson show....

can't wait!!

cheers,

Nell

[MarcO]

I love the White Stripes.

[Northern Wish]

Seriously how effing cool is Jack White eh?

Not to mention talented. The new album is leagues above most of those 'other' alt/ indie/ rock bands.....

[MarcO]

Toronto Star: Iqaluit abuzz over White Stripes

June 27, 2007

Ben Rayner

Pop Music Critic

IQALUIT, NUNAVUT–If there are no roads leading to your hometown, you're generally not going to see its name popping up on many concert-tour itineraries.

There is, thus, a healthy buzz around this town about the arrival today of American rock 'n' rollers the White Stripes in Nunavut's capital city, a windswept community of 7,200 located on the southeastern flank of Baffin Island.

The scant 600 tickets that went up for sale at $45 apiece last month for the Detroit-born duo's concert at Iqaluit's Arctic Winter Games Arena tonight were snapped up within hours, and even a visitor with zero knowledge of the Inuktitut language can't help noticing how often the words "White Stripes" creep into overheard conversations at neighbouring tables in local bars and restaurants.

True, some residents speak privately about concerns among some quarters of Iqaluit's Inuit population that this is another incident where white people drop in for a quick, exploitative photo op and then take off for good.

But generally, the folks in this friendly burg appreciate the effort the White Stripes are putting into playing above the treeline. And they're definitely putting in effort.

"I think we took for granted everything we do at home," said Daniel Glick, the young Montreal concert promoter overseeing tonight's Iqaluit gig on behalf of Gillette Entertainment Group.

"We didn't realize the intricacies involved."

Those intricacies included flying an entire road crew in from Vancouver over the weekend to begin assembling a stage and erecting a PA system in the venue, a former hockey rink that has fallen into disuse since the southern end of its floor sank a metre or so into the ground a few years ago.

More than 3,000 kilograms of sound and lighting gear separate from the White Stripes' usual touring arsenal also had to be flown into Iqaluit from Vancouver for tonight's show.

The Stripes have chartered a plane to flit between their recent dates in Burnaby, Whitehorse and Yellowknife to Iqaluit and then back to Calgary later this week.

The Detroit-based alt-rock duo – Meg and Jack White – are hot, with their new album Icky Thump hitting No. 1 on iTunes this week.

They embarked on an 18-concert cross-Canada tour last weekend in British Columbia that will take them to every province and territory. Jack White admits it doesn't make sense and won't make much money, but says it's a dream trip rooted in childhood fantasies about the Great White North.

They will play in large and small communities across the country before wrapping up with a 10th anniversary concert in Glace Bay, N.S., July 14, where he has family roots, with distant relative Ashley MacIsaac as guest fiddler, and a show in St. John's July 16. Their Toronto stop is July 5 at Molson Amphitheatre.

Before they could even land on the ground in Iqaluit, myriad local laws and liability demands had to be negotiated to make sure the concert could go ahead. For several weeks, it's been the job of Iqaluit's economic development officer, Mike Bozzer, to help facilitate the band's arrival in this unlikely spot.

Gillette Entertainment contacted him a couple of months ago, he says, with the news that a "major" touring act wanted to play here. A name was not forthcoming, but he diligently scoped out a venue and assured the promoter that Iqaluit – which has doubled in size since 1991, having grown in leaps and bounds since it was officially declared Nunavut's capital in 1999 – could handle such an event.

"It kind of got me a bit giddy when they said it was the White Stripes," Bozzer conceded yesterday, while the sounds of frantic sawing and hammering filled the arena.

"This does a lot of good that you can't really count by dollars. It's a lot of free publicity, for one thing. But if we put on a good show and the artists enjoy themselves, maybe this could be a thing that happens every year with different bands. It puts us on the map.

"People might think this is the cold Arctic, but it has all the amenities of any other city."

Media exposure for Iqaluit and Nunavut in southern Canada is one thing, observed Nunavut Tourism's Jillian Dickens, but the Stripes' arrival on the fringes of the Arctic Circle means a lot to a region that doesn't enjoy nearly as many benefits as the rest of the country.

"I think that one of the most important things about the White Stripes coming here, or a big show coming to a community like this, is it brings the community together a little bit more," she said.

"What's important about this is not bringing people here to see the White Stripes or something like this, it's about giving the North something. But the spinoff of that, of course, is great exposure for the territory and for the city in big publications in the south.

"The easiest and most cost-effective and just effective way of marketing is word-of-mouth. The only way to do word-of-mouth is to give people words to come out of their mouths. And the only way to do that is to bring them up here."

Iqaluit is already a quiet stop-off point for more celebrities than one might imagine, having played host in recent weeks to globetrotting billionnaire Richard Branson and singer Jewel, who were in town to learn about environmental issues.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Salma Hayek were in town last year for similar reasons, while Bozzer jokes that even Madonna has passed through Iqaluit's airstrip – one of the longest in Canada – because it's such a common stopover for intercontinental air travel.

If the White Stripes show can be pulled off without a hitch, there are quiet hopes in the community that it might attract a few more.

Such out-of-the-way locales as St. John's and Dawson City, for instance, have started attracting a trickle of touring bands in recent years, based mainly on the fact the acts that have bothered to play there had such good experiences.

"If we only had more hotel rooms in town, it could be the new Las Vegas north," quips deputy mayor Allen Hayward.

[MK]

Photos: White Stripes Rock a Tiny Classroom [burnaby, British Columbia; 06/24/07]

pitchfork

[MarcO]

I love the White Stripes.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

legend

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Whitehorse strikes gold with White Stripes concerts

Sandra Sperounes, The Edmonton Journal

Published: Thursday, June 28, 2007

WHITEHORSE, Yukon - Who says the Gold Rush is over?

Whitehorse struck it rich when one of the world's biggest bands, The White Stripes, rocked this remote northern city of 23,000 in the land of the midnight sun.

The garage-rock duo of singer/guitarist Jack and drummer Meg White treated fans to not one, but two shows Monday -- an impromptu afternoon concert in a downtown park, followed by an electrifying, sold-out gig at the Yukon Arts Centre.

Their 95-minute evening show -- a thunderous, thumping assault of heavy, crackling blues and feisty, shrill punk -- capped off a day fraught with frustration and excitement.

Some residents griped about the dearth of seats at the Arts Centre. Others weren't sure who The White Stripes were, while 428 fans with tickets treated Jack and Meg like they were priceless nuggets of gold, knowing how rare and precious rock stars of their status are in this part of Canada.

Whitehorse usually gets classic-rock acts like Trooper, Dr. Hook and Nazareth, though rapper Buck 65, k.d. lang and Daniel Lanois have also made appearances over the last 20 years.

"You guys rock the free world!" whooped one man as the pair of fake siblings cranked out tunes from their latest album, Icky Thump, and a glittering collection of older songs, including Hotel Yorba, Seven Nation Army and a wicked, wailing cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene.

"Is it OK if we play a longer show than we normally do?" mumbled Jack, about eight songs into their set at the Arts Centre's cosy theatre, which felt more like an elementary gymnasium filled with hyperactive children.

"We don't know when we'll be coming back."

Whitehorse was the first of three northern stops -- followed by Yellowknife and Iqaluit -- as part of the duo's mission to cover all three territories and 10 provinces. They play Bluesfest in Ottawa July 8.

Jack White told a reporter he was especially looking forward to shows in the northern territories. "That's, of course, going to be the most interesting, because it's so remote and you get such a different culture anywhere in the world where it's so remote."

It's also expensive to travel across the rugged wilderness, which is why more artists don't do it. The White Stripes are losing $60,000 (U.S.) on their three northern dates, according to the Yukon Arts Centre's artistic director Eric Epstein.

Instead of trying to make up their costs with exorbitant ticket prices, seats to the duo's Whitehorse show were only $40 plus service charges. It's a refreshing change, considering acts such as Bon Jovi and The Police charge hundreds of dollars for their tickets.

"I can't think of anyone, Canadian or American, who has done this kind of three-day northern tour," said Epstein. "We've never been included in a tour like this."

The White Stripes chartered two planes for their territorial jaunt -- one for their gear and a 23-seater for their entourage, including roadies, a film crew and staff of the tour company, Live Nation.

They landed in Whitehorse at 6 a.m. Monday.

"They seemed pretty tired," said Epstein. "It's going to seem like one long day in the north. There's no darkness."

Seven hours after his arrival, Jack was out and about -- ordering a cup of coffee in Zola's Cafe Dore and turning heads as he walked around downtown Whitehorse with two of his crew members.

"Who was that?" asked a bewildered older man as the trio sauntered along Main Street, sporting pasty faces as white as the snow-capped mountains surrounding the city. They were all clad in two of White's customary colours -- black suits and hats with red ties -- yet they might as well have been wearing fluorescent pink and green.

"We saw them walking and we thought they were weird and we decided to follow them," giggled Jenna Hartle, 15, who trailed White into the cafe.

"Then we thought, 'Oh my God, it's actually him!' I took out my cellphone and took a picture. I was a fan of the White Stripes in Grade 7. I think everyone was. It was a big thing to learn Seven Nation Army on the guitar. It only has two chords."

The teen wasn't lucky enough to get tickets to the show at the Arts Centre, which sold out in 12 minutes.

Stephen Dunbar-Edge camped out for more 13 hours on a cold, rainy night in May to get tickets to the show. "I had one of those zero-gravity chairs, a couple sleeping bags, a tarp, my laptop and a DVD player," laughed Dunbar-Edge. "I was watching The Devil Wears Prada."

He bought eight tickets, gave four to a friend, and kept the rest for a contest to promote his company, Yukon Pride Adventure Tours, which caters to gay and lesbian travellers.

His proposition? He asked straight men to pose for promotional shots for his website, yukonpride.ca. He received 12 entries -- and chose four men, including Stephen Toews and his brother, Mike, who each earned a ticket to Monday's show for ditching his heterosexuality for a day.

"It was fun," said Toews of the photo shoot. "Sh--, for a White Stripes ticket? It's better than cash!"

Steve Herskowitz, a doctor from Montreal, was in town for a bachelor's party and managed to buy a pair of tickets from a scalper for $180.

Perhaps to compensate for the lack of tickets, The White Stripes also staged an impromptu concert at LePage Park -- kind of like one of U2's guerrilla video shoots.

Rumours of the gig started rumbling through Whitehorse late Monday afternoon. Fans began showing up at the small downtown park, then at 4:50 p.m., CBC Radio leaked the news.

"I jumped in my truck and ... wooot," smiled Bernie, a Whitehorse resident in his 40s. By the time he arrived, the park was crammed with about 400 fans, including a few who were forced to climb trees to get a better view of Jack and Meg White.

The duo played six songs, including Hotel Yorba and We're Going to be Friends, on a low, circular stage.

He stood while she sat on the bricks, surrounded by a tambourine, maracas and tiny hand drums.

"I could barely see anything, so I had to climb on to a roof," said Sylvia MacKenzie, 16, pointing to one of the historic buildings around the park. "It was pretty exciting."

The Whites arrived at the Arts Centre before the bulk of the 428 fans arrived for the evening performance -- many dressed in red and black, others wearing sunglasses, wigs and boas.

At show time, as Jack and Meg played the grungy, heavy notes of Black Math, fans exploded out of their seats, pumping their fists, or running to the front of the theatre.

The duo's 25-song set was loud, stompy, heavy and wild -- Jack slid, pounced, twirled, kneeled and knocked over microphone stands as if his guitar was throwing him around like a delirious rag doll.

At times, his feet came precariously close to getting wrapped in his guitar cables -- but he didn't seem to notice. He was focused on coaxing thunderbolts of bluesy, squealing shrieks out of his throat and guitar, during I'm Slowly Turning Into You, Hello Operator, Blue Orchid, The Denial Twist and the group's latest single, Icky Thump, which also featured a pandemonium of synthesizers.

Jack tried to tame his inner beast during softer, snappier songs such as Jolene, We're Going to Be Friends and I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself, but it was futile. He still ended up sounding like a deliciously evil Paul McCartney.

Meg, in contrast, was the reserved, but charming school teacher -- singing In the Cold, Cold Night with her eyes shut tight, and gingerly raising her elbows while tapping on her cymbals or bashing her kick drum.

But she couldn't hold her poise once Jack stormed her drum riser and collapsed into her at the end of the concert. The two clasped hands and walked off stage -- only to return with a large flag of the Yukon.

The crowd roared like the once mighty White Horse Rapids.

the flag thing seems pretty contrived, but other than that, awesome.

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White Stripes making North cool

By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media

IQALUIT, Nunavut -- Detroit blues-rock duo The White Stripes are being praised for bringing some much needed attention to Canada's often neglected Northern communities, as the band tours all 10 provinces and territories.

"I think it's probably one of the coolest things that has happened because it's obviously not a money-making scenario," said Nunavut rock singer Lucie Idlout, who was to open for Jack and Meg White last night at Iqaluit's Arctic Winter Games Arena.

"Often, the North is forgotten. We haven't had a lot of big-label bands coming up here to perform. We have had some, but it's usually in cooperation with a cruise, or whatever ... That (the White Stripes) just decided to take a loss for the sake of seeing the entire country, I think that's a really cool thing."

Not only that, but the band -- who played in Whitehorse, Yukon, on Monday night and Yellowknife, N.W.T., on Tuesday night -- ]are making a documentary of their cross-Canada travels, for they have an L.A. film crew in tow.

The group visited the elders centre yesterday where they did an impromptu performance, with an elder on accordion, Jack on acoustic guitar and Meg on maracas.

Iqaluit's economic development officer, Mike Bozzer, also praised the resulting attention the band's presence in town had caused around the world.

"There's so much buzz, you can't beat that, you can't put a dollar value on that kind of publicity," Bozzer said.

Iqaluit might be one of the fastest growing places in Canada, but is economically depressed, what with a major housing shortage and dirt roads outnumbering paved ones, and most workers having some level of government as a boss.

Yet there is a healthy artistic community worth nurturing. This city currently is playing host to the 11-day Alianait Arts Festival, with 150 artists in film, music, theatre, visual arts and storytelling participating.

ArtCirq, a delightful Inuit circus group of young people from Igloolik, who performed Tuesday night at Middle School next to the Arctic Winter Games Arena, is the perfect example of the arts helping to rehabilitate a community.

"It was formed a number of years ago, actually as a result of a number of suicides that happened there," said Heather Daly, the president of both the festival and the Iqaluit Music Society. "And the youth there was devastated."

Isuma Productions, producer of the Cannes Award-winning 2001 film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), arranged to send these youths to Quebec and be trained in circus.

Idlout says there never used to be much of a local indie music scene when she was starting out. But that's changing "as more southerners arrive in town."

Idlout plans to release her second album, Swagger, this fall, and she is in talks with major labels in Toronto, where she lives part-time.

"I think (The White Stripes tour) will bring tons of attention to the North, for sure," she said. "I think we've already received quite a bit."

Iqaluit has to use schools or the local legion hall as venues when music bands do come through. The town, then, is in desperate need of a new arts centre with state-of-the-art lighting, sound and seating.

"Personally, as director of this festival, I refuse to bring great artists here and put them in a hockey arena," said Daly, a former Torontonian whose day job is now as Nunavut's director of court services. "It's just not good enough."

Bozzer said a new centre, be it for the arts or conventions, "is on our radar. We have the direction, we have the will, absolutely."

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Iqaluit welcomes Stripes with open arms

Jun 28, 2007 04:30 AM

Ben Rayner

Pop Music Critic

IQALUIT–Does anyone else get the sense that the White Stripes are applying for the job of Canada's favourite band?

They've had the appropriate, red-and-white colour scheme down for years, so the presence of a single, crimson maple leaf on front man Jack White's guitar amp throughout the duo's breathless set at Iqaluit's Arctic Winter Games Arena last night was so unobtrusive that one didn't even realize it was there until halfway through the show.

Beyond that, though, the Detroit-born, lately Nashville-based duo is so obviously thrilled to be playing to grateful audiences in every out-of-the-way nook and cranny of the country on its current tour.

Seriously, in more than a decade as a rock critic, I have never seen a rock band smile as much onstage as Jack and his uncharacteristically glowing drummer/"big sister" Meg did last night — that they're likely to walk away from this trip with honorary Canadian citizenships.

Call it a publicity stunt to drive up domestic sales of the Stripes' terrific new record, Icky Thump, if you will, but there's no way anyone's making any money off lugging families, a road crew and thousands of pounds of gear between arctic outposts like Whitehorse, Yellowknife and the wonderful little Nunavut capital of Iqaluit – easily the smallest and most remote destination Jack and Meg have ever blown into –before hitting such neglected eastern locales as Glace Bay and St. John's in the weeks ahead.

The White Stripes are doing this because they want to, pure and simple, and their evident pleasure at being able to see this part of the world fairly oozed from the stage all through their 90-minute set.

Iqaluit will, it's safe to say, welcome the White Stripes – who spent the day checking out the rugged northern scenery, perusing the local Alianait! arts festival and dining on raw caribou with Inuit elders – back with open arms.

For a crowd of 600 (a small number, perhaps, but that's nearly one-tenth of Iqaluit's 7,000 residents), the audience in the Arctic Winter Games Arena transmitted a consistent, giddy energy rarely witnessed at shows in Toronto.

All the non-stop dancing and squealing on the floor – filled as much with moms, dads and small children as it was Iqaluit's remarkably hip and happenin' young people, not to mention the Nunavut territory's premier, Paul Okalik – was soaked up and spat back from the stage in a performance unhinged even by the White Stripes' lofty standards.

Jack screamed himself raw on searing versions of "I'm Slowly Turning Into You," "Icky Thump" and "The Hardest Button to Button," and threw himself into an encore rendition of the anthem "Seven Nation Army" with such violent gusto that a guitar tech had to whip out after one verse and repair his tormented guitar while he and Meg adlibbed briefly on an organ.

In a marked departure from his usual, standoffish stage demeanour, he beamingly took a request for "Fell In Love With a Girl" from the crowd and coaxed the mob to sing along with the chorus to "De Ballit of De Boll Weevil." And the dedication that led into the winning ballad "We're Going to Be Friends" was downright sweet.

"If we stay here a couple more days we're gonna know everyone in town," he laughed. "What do you say, Meg? You wanna stay here another week?"

One got the distinct sense they were actually mulling it. A tip of the hat, then, White Stripes, for bothering to bring rock `n' roll to places most Canadians, let alone Canadian bands, never get to visit. When your home country goes finally, completely to hell, you're more than welcome to join us up here.

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Adam Johnson

Northern News Services

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Last night, a world-renowned band at the peak of its success rocked more than 2,300 people of all ages who packed the Multiplex.

The Detroit, Michigan-based White Stripes - Jack White and Meg White -- played a blistering 90 minute set at the Multiplex last night, marking another notch in their promise to play every territory and province in Canada.

"We'll never get another band like this," said promoter Gary Hubert with Aurora Productions.

The White Stripes have won numerous Grammys, have sold millions of albums and their latest single -- Icky Thump -- is number one in Britain at deadline.

Tonight (June 27), the band takes on the Arctic Winter Games Arena in Iqaluit, playing for city whose population (6,000) is less than the attendance of many of their shows. Lucie Idlout is slated to open the show.

Earlier in the day, the band had played an impromptu set at the Wildcat Café in front a packed crowd of community members.

Anthony Foliot had the honour of showing the group around town. "Radical," was the way Foliot characterized the day, with a smile that told the rest.

Yellowknife rockers Diga opened the Multiplex show, a gesture frontman Jesse James Gon said was a huge honour.

"I would have done it for free," he said. The crowd was receptive to its homegrown talent, cheering on the band through Bare Hands and other track from its new CD, Forest Fire.

"That was the most intense 30 minutes of my life," said Gon.

The main act was no slouch either, pounding through hits and album tracks with wild abandon. The less-is-more duo switched between drums, vocals, keyboards and percussion, as the crowd sang and jumped in time.

At no point was this stronger than during, Seven Nation Army, the band's best known hit. Sweat misted off the rolling bodies in the crowd, bringing the heat in the venue to an incredible peak.

And as a closing touch, Jack came back onto the stage bearing a massive Northwest Territories flag. And he continued to carry it into the band's dressing room.

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Arctic Winter Games Arena, Iqaluit - June 27, 2007

White Stripes heat up Iqaluit

By JANE STEVENSON -- Sun Media

IQALUIT, Nunavut - No, that Icky Thump reverberating loudly in this remote Arctic capital on Wednesday night wasn't the sound of ice breaking up in Frobisher Bay.

It was the righteous noise-making of howlin' blues-rock duo The White Stripes, who played the Arctic Winter Games Arena as part of their unique - and hopefully trendsetting - tour of all ten Canadian provinces and territories in support of their barely two-week old new album, Icky Thump.

"Meg and I had a little time and a little dinner with your Inuit elders today," said the darkly sexy White Stripes singer-guitarist Jack White in his trademark red shirt and pants with black shoes.

"And for the first time I had uncooked caribou - mmm, mmm good!" he added to huge cheers.

White, joined by drmmer Meg in a white shirt and black pants on drums, continued the long-standing ruse that the duo - who will celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band with a show in Glace Bay, N.S. on July 14 - are actually siblings instead of ex-husband and wife.

"My name is Jack White and this is my big sister Meg White on drums," he said by way of introduction.

Whatever their relationship was, the two musicians are clearly still in sync as they operated without a set list - as per usual - and improvised wherever possible.

White seemed determined to get in Meg's face as often as he could with one of his four microphone stands hovering dangerously close to her red and white drum kit as he maniacally sang away.

In a cute aside, her first name was spelled out in red letters on the back of her cushioned white drum stool and a red and white Canadian flag could be seen on one of the speakers, nicely fitting in with the band's red, white and black colour motif.

And when Meg got up to sweetly sing In The Cold, Cold Night, the crowd seemed totally mesmerized by her rare vocal performance.

But it was a cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene that was the first tune of the evening to spark a clap-along amongst the ecstatic crowd who often chanted "White Stripes! White Stripes!" in between songs.

Other highlights of the hour-and-35-minute show were such back catalogue delights as Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground, Hotel Yorba, I Know We're Going To Friends, The Hardest Button To Button, Fell In Love With A Girl and Seven Nation Army.

And newer tunes like Icky Thump's title track, Cause And Effect, and 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues, improved in the live setting mainly due to White's stellar guitar playing on acoustic, electric and slide, and total commitment to theatrical performing.

Still, it was the deeply psychedelic I'm Slowly Turning Into You which prove to be the best new song as it ended with a big showdown between Jack and Meg.

Much has also been made about the sunken floor of the Arctic Winter Games Arena, but that flaw was disguised on Wednesday night by having the stage take up the front end of the venue where the problem lies.

"The tundra's taking over," summed up Jack.

Otherwise, white and red convention curtains (again with those colors!) cordoned off the arena's built-in cement seating and merchandise included $30 limited edition t-shirts that will only be offered on the Canadian leg of their tour.

But given Iqaluit's out of the way locale and the lack of A-list acts that have actually made their way here - the last big group to play the arena was the Barenaked Ladies a decade ago - it truly seemed a shame that the venue was only about a quarter full due to fire marshall regulations.

"This room can hold a couple more people than this, can't it?," said Jack. "We wanted more people in but the fire marshall said no. Hey, I don't want anybody to catch fire!

"Tell those people that couldn't come that Meg and I were sorry," he added more seriously. The other thing is that the arena is situated in a striking setting, high on a hill overlooking the town and Frobisher Bay below so an outside stage would have only added to the dramatics of the show, which saw Nunavut rocker Lucie Idlout open.

By the time Jack and Meg appeared on stage waving Nunavut's territorial flag at the end of the evening, you almost wished it were a multi-night stand.

Apparently, so did Jack.

"I could stay here for a week and get to know everyone in town," he said.

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ChartAttack will have reviews, photos and news from most of The White Stripes' cross-Canada tour. Check back to this space for updates on the duo's whereabouts and goings-on as they tour the Great White North.

June 25, 2007

Yukon Arts Centre

Whitehorse, YT

by Andrew Hoshkiw

"Is it OK if we play longer than we usually do?" Jack White asked the beyond-capacity crowd at Monday night's concert in Whitehorse. "We don't know when we're coming back here."

"But we're coming back," he added.

Playing about 30 minutes longer than the previous night's show in Burnaby, B.C., Jack was true to his word. With a capacity of just over 400, the Yukon Arts Centre is by far the smallest venue on the tour.

It was a show of little banter. Apart from his pledge to return, Jack spoke only two other times: once near the beginning to introduce his "sister" Meg and later to thank a girl he met earlier in the day working at a coffee shop. Talk, however, isn't what the crowd was there for and the Stripes knew it as they proceeded to belt out song after song.

Meg and her drum set sat on the left, while Jack, who dominated most of the stage, was surrounded by various guitars, keyboards and microphones. The show got underway at about 8:45 p.m. With no introduction, the Stripes walked onstage and played "Black Math" and "Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground."

The duo offered the crowd a sharp contrast — Meg was calm and composed, Jack was the wild man. At one point, he repeatedly sang, "We're gonna rock, rock Whitehorse."

In all, Jack worked three references to the city into the songs, something that's ordinarily unheard of at a White Stripes concert. But then, there was much to this concert which was out of the ordinary. Jack humped a stage technician who came out to untangle a wire, and got so into one song that he lumbered across the stage, crashing through microphone stands and knocking over keyboards.

Towards the middle of the set, Jack launched into a lengthy, intense blues guitar solo that resulted in a broken string one song later.

They played a total of 29 songs, six more than the night before. Only two or three songs were played from the recently released Icky Thump. An eight-song encore began with "Blue Orchid" and the new record's title track. Then Jack put down his guitar, picked up a ukulele and, seemingly without the help of a mic, sang the bluegrass-inspired "Little Ghost." Of special note was the rarely performed third-last song, "You Got Her In Your Pocket," which was followed by "Denial Twist" and "Seven Nation Army." With the guitar still reverbing, Jack hoisted a Yukon flag and ran frantically around the stage before finally heading off.

Yukon Arts Centre artistic director Eric Epstein said the stunt with the flag gave the ending a nice touch, noting the band intended something similar for every province and territory on the tour. "Last night, I think they had to scale a building to get a B.C. flag," he said, adding that the Yukon flag was donated by the Arts Centre.

"The audience seemed totally into it. We had a really happy audience, 80 to 90 per cent of the crowd was standing 100 per cent of the time."

The small venue size was one drawback.

"Only a certain number of people could be here, so what they did this afternoon was wonderful," confessed Epstein, referring to a free, impromptu show earlier in the day at a downtown park.

Arts Centre front of house manager Matt Poushinsky was optimistic at the suggestion of a return. "After talking with their manager, I would not be surprised if they're back," he said, noting the band said they had a genuinely great experience while in Whitehorse.

The band had a chance to explore the area during the course of the day, and there were numerous sightings of them on the streets. Despite concert being sold out, Jack handed out piles of free tickets that turned out to be backstage passes.

As the show came to an end, the crowd dispersed gleefully. One enthused fan, Fiona Solon, described it as "radtastic." "It was just like nothing else that has come here and we were all lucky," she said.

"I was exhausted going in, and even more coming out, but it was definitely worth it," said Chris Vainio, who stood in line overnight to get tickets.

When all was said and done, Jack and Meg came with a whirlwind of fury and left an irrevocable mark. For a big city, The White Stripes might be just another band, but for one day in Whitehorse, they meant the world.

[MarcO]

awesome.

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i thought i had my own private thread for a bit there.... hehe. i'm pumped for all those folks that get to see them in these small theatres and northern towns. awesome. and of course i'm pumped for the ottawa show.

[Kanada Kev]

Just got a txt message from the "Molson Insider" for the possibility of winning some free White Stripes tix Somebody's gotta win.

Text message: TIX to 25858

Edited June 28, 2007 by Guest

[Jaimoe]

I love these posts. I think the concert reports are important. Keep 'em coming. I'm also thrilled that a crew is following the Stripes around on the Canadian tour for a future documentary. Like the band's music or not, the undertaking of this tour is hard not to admire.

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White Stripes jam with elders, rock Iqaluit

Last Updated: Thursday, June 28, 2007 | 2:52 PM ET

CBC News

The White Stripes concluded their three-stop journey across Canada's North in Iqaluit, where they jammed with Inuit elders, ate raw caribou and played a raucous show for hundreds in a half-full arena on Wednesday.

The Detroit-based rock duo of Jack and Meg White played Wednesday night in the Arctic Winter Games Arena, as part of their ambitious cross-Canada tour that has them travelling to cities in every province and territory. The band is promoting its sixth album, Icky Thump, which came out earlier this month.

Earlier this week, they played to crowds of 400 and 2,200 in sold-out shows in Whitehorse and Yellowknife, respectively.

About 600 tickets were sold for Wednesday night's concert, but less than half of the arena space was filled. Fans cheered as singer and guitarist Jack White waved the Nunavut flag at the end of the performance, in which they performed everything from the hit song Seven Nation Army to White's trademark cover of Dolly Parton's 1973 song Jolene.

"I don't have much of a voice left. I thought it was absolutely fantastic," Iqaluit fan Valmar Goggin said after the show. "I think they gave the same show they would have given in any other town, which is really respectable seeing as how few people we had in there."

Before the show, the band ate raw caribou meat and met with local elders in the city. In fact, the meeting turned into an impromptu jam session, with some elders dancing and playing accordions and Jack White following along on guitar, said those who attended.

White told CBC News that he and drummer Meg White couldn't visit Nunavut without learning more about Inuit culture.

"Older people have so much knowledge, and especially the elders of the Inuit people," he said. "The stories that we were lucky enough to hear were wonderful. We were very fortunate that we got a chance to sit and talk with them. I'm glad they let us into their home like that."

On Thursday morning, the duo went out with a documentary film crew near the old Hudson Bay buildings in nearby Apex, shooting footage that may appear in a future music video or on a DVD about the Canadian tour.

The White Stripes' Canadian trek — which began June 24 in Burnaby, B.C. — now returns south, with its next stop Friday at the Calgary Saddledome.

White Stripes singer Jack White said he and drummer Meg White were fortunate to hear stories from Iqaluit elders on Wednesday.

(Photo courtesy Lissie Kelly)

Meg and Jack White spent Thursday morning shooting video footage by the old Hudson Bay buildings in Apex, Nunavut.

(Joanne Stassen/CBC)

[NewRider]

Sorry I'll miss it this time around.

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June 26, 2007

Multiplex Arena

Yellowknife, NWT

by Kate Guay

Summer has just kicked into high gear in the Northwest Territories, with the solstice sun refusing to set and the smell and haze of forest fires hanging in the air. But for nearly two months, the hot topic of conversation has been The White Stripes.

Yellowknifers are lucky to get a wide selection of Canadian talent coming up for our annual summer Folk On The Rocks festival, but as yet no artists or bands as internationally renowned as Meg and Jack White have ever played a gig in our humble capital.

Unconfirmed rumors of how the duo spent their day in the city ran rampant. This reporter was on hand as one individual made endless cell phone calls on Monday night trying to put the Stripes' people in touch with his renowned taxidermist stepfather so they could have a viewing of his handiwork. No word if that panned out, but the latest story is that Meg took a tour of the brightly coloured and self-sustaining houseboats in Yellowknife Bay — the best bohemian neighborhood we've got to offer.

There was no impromptu park concert for the 'Knife, unlike lucky Whitehorse, but the fans came out in force to a sold-out show. More than 2,000 people packed the Multiplex arena, some in the bleachers, but most on the cement of the hockey rink situated at the base of a simple stage with a deep red backdrop. Local rockers Diga warmed up the early crowd with a 30-minute set of their hard bluesy rock.

The floor then filled with anticipation for the Stripes, and the crowd lost their shit when the house lights went down. They kept the same simple set-up as previous shows — Meg's kit to the left, facing right towards Jack's multiple mics, guitars and organ. They opened with "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground" and kept the set fairly similar to previous shows they've played in the past week in Canada and New York. The mix of old to new material was about 60/40.

The arena is hardly an ideal place for any band to play. However, it's the only venue in town large enough for 2,000 sweaty people. The sound was also extremely bottom-heavy, which worked mostly to the Stripes' advantage. Despite the sub-par acoustics, the energy was high as they ripped through an hour-long set. Highlights included "Hotel Yorba," "In The Cold, Cold Night," "We're Going To Be Friends" and a beautiful take on their cover of "Jolene."

After the first set, the band came back for an encore that peaked with "Seven Nation Army" and ended with a singalong to "Boweevil." And then, as they have at the two previous shows, they walked off stage to roaring cheers as Jack waved the Northwest Territories flag. Meg, Jack, you're welcome to come back any time.