From the moment word hit of Jack White’s presence in Denver, a full day ahead of a sold out Red Rocks engagement, rumors of an unannounced, so called secret show, occupied the time of local music bloggers. Following every sighting and rumor with a chaser of anxious speculation. And then more speculating.
It was fun. I was all-in on the lively online tracking of Mr. White. Twitter continues to impress as a medium for real time interaction with the world. Try to think of a distant future where anthropologists study our contemporary times – Twitter is basically a rough recording of the world’s events as seen through humans, way better than conclusions from buried pottery. Anthropologists in the future will have it waaaay easier.
Most canned profiles on Jack White mention his penchant for vintage gear and other obscure potpourri. Though driven from a firm, unwavering belief that amplification and recording performance have all peaked in their technological capabilities long ago, when coupled with White’s throwback persona, adoration for peppermints, and publicly stating a longing for kids to get serious with remote-controlled steamboats; a veering caricature of White as Luddite is never far. Then things like these “B shows” happen, and the method in which the news propagates (and the surrounding hoopla) brings into focus the savvy brilliance of Jack White.
Jack White. B show. B there. B square. Isdajo Automotive. 3411 W. Colfax Ave. Denver. 3:30 PM.
— Third Man Records (@thirdmanrecords) August 8, 2012
30 minutes later a couple hundred people gathered at a nondescript auto service station to see the coolest rockstar on the planet play a short set in the middle of the afternoon. I was so anxious about the entire thing – tracking it for 2 days, driving there, getting stuck in traffic – that by the time I was there I barely had a second to enjoy anything between shooting photos. There’s a lesson there that I know Jack appreciates.
Jack White – “Ball and a Biscuit” B show, Isdajo Automotive Denver
See the rest of this photo album here.
