Jack White at Brooklyn Steel (review)

Jack White made his triumphant return to the city with a performance at Brooklyn Steel on Wednesday, February 22nd. The underplay came ahead of this weekend’s performance at SNL, which featured an opening performance from his wife, Olivia Jean. As well as continued support of both of his 2022 albums, Fear of the Dawn + Entering Heaven Alive (both out via Third Man Records).

Jack and his band took the stage and the obviously sold out Brooklyn crowd welcome him with as raucous of reception as one would expect. This was my first time seeing Jack since his 2018 run at Kings Theatre and one of the best solo performances that I have seen from him to date.

Half of the 22-song setlist was White Stripes classics such as “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and “Ball and Biscuit”, along with The Dead Weather’s “I Cut Like a Buffalo” and The Raconteurs’ “Steady, as She Goes.”

While the crowd still was passionate about Jack’s solo efforts such as “Lazaretto”, it was clear that even White knew what people really wanted to hear, and he and his always-tight live band delivered as usual. They famously play with no setlist, but feed off of the energy of the crowd and navigate based on what the night presents. And the night presented fan favorites, blistering guitar work and a reminder that we are witnessing one of the last true rockstars of our time.

The encore performance of “Steady, as She Goes” created the fever-pitch-like atmosphere of the finale, before a blistering take of “Icky Thump” nearly melted both the room and my face right clean off. Along with his own “What’s the Trick?” he finished the night off with The White Stripes’ “Blue Orchid” before winding us up with a tease of the infamous riff of “Seven Nation Army” before unleashing the goods and sending fans more than happy.

Jack White setlist:

1. Taking Me Back
2. Fear of the Dawn
3. Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)
4. Hi-De-Ho
5. Apple Blossom (The White Stripes)
6. If I Die Tomorrow
7. What’s Done Is Done
8. Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)
9. Fell in Love With a Girl (The White Stripes)
10. Lazaretto
11. I Think I Smell a Rat (The White Stripes)
12. I Cut Like a Buffalo (The Dead Weather)
13. We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)
14. A Tip From You to Me
15. A Madman From Manhattan
16. Catch Hell Blues (The White Stripes)
17. Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes)

Encore:

18. Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs)
19. Icky Thump (The White Stripes)
20. What’s the Trick?
21. Blue Orchid (The White Stripes)
22. Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)

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