bonnaroo: the white stripes - part 1

by sunday evening the dust at bonnaroo was almost unbearable. we were tired and dirty and worn out but we made it to the WHICH STAGE area more than 40 minutes before the white stripes (site/myspace/wiki) emerged.

while we were there i met and talked with several fellow roovians. here's a big SHOUT OUT to anyone that i talkedwith and had fun with while at roo!!!

another thing that makes bonnaroo so great is how music fans from all over the country get to hang out together while watching an act they really love. that was what was happening in that field before jack and meg came out and rocked our asses. we chatted, we toked, and we drank as many many people slowly crowded every little space there was to fill in that field.

before the show began some people (not the santas) came around handing out really great promotional buttons and stickers for the Icky Thump album. FREE STUFF! whoa-whoo! i got 2 buttons and 2 different color stickers with the Icky Thump logo on them. cool!! in return i had to let them take my picture. (i soo hope they never use it)

NO, it wasn't christmas. but the anticipation was almost the same.

ok, i don't know how many people were over there but it was alot. everyone wanted to find out can 2 people really rock that hard? i am a witness to the answer. and it is YES!! those 2 people can indeed rock thousands. proven. i saw it.

jack and meg white rocked. fucking rocked! except when they were being gentle like on "cold cold night" when jack strolled around the stage while meg shined during her lead vocal. meg had a number of electronic drums included in her set. i think she must have been triggering some loops and effects and maybe even bass pedals. jack certainly had alot of gadgets including an organ an a "mini-organ" (or synthesizer) which is the source of that great sound featured on the song "icky thump". i don't know what that thing is called but i love it. jack also does a really interesting thing where he sometimes sings at the mic located near his gear and then sometimes he comes over and sings right beside meg. that mic stand is almost part of her drum set. it is then that he really lets it all out. almost as if he has to have that personal close interaction with her in order to really express himself. that creative intimacy is electric!

the video clips were taken with my Fuji FinePix S5000. it isn't a very good video camera but it does an ok job with this. the audio is in mono. i wasn't really that close to the stage but i didn't think i was very far away either since i could see fairly well. but that was before those pesky thousands of people started getting in the way.



i think that this second video is actually the better of the two except for a part in the middle where my arm needed a 25 second break. sorry about that. anyway... this song was a big hit with the audience. they were eagerly singing the chorus "i don't know what to do with myself..."



i hope you enjoy these videos if you are indeed a fan of the white stripes. i am an even bigger fan of them since seeing the concert and hearing Icky Thump, the new album that is available now. i highly recommend it! i bought it myself and will include my album review in the next post.

for more on bonnaroo 2007 check out current tv @ bonnaroo this weekend! here was their AC-filled promotional tent in centeroo:

next post: part 2 - more white stripes