Photos from Jack White’s Toronto show

[Jack was loud and wild on August 19 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto. Alex Lupul was there and files this report using pool photos from Jo McCaughey. – AC]

While the pandemic has proved to be difficult for musicians around the globe–with the delaying of touring and live music events–Jack White is one such musician who has utilised this forced respite to recharge and return with new music.

This year, White has continued his prolific output with not one, but two new full-length albums–his first releases since 2018–with April seeing the release of “Fear of the Dawn,” and “Entering Heaven Alive” being released in July.

To celebrate the release of two brand new albums, White was quick to announce the first set of dates for “The Supply Chain Issues” tour, taking the musician across North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom–White’s first headline shows in four years.

The tour kicked off with a pair of special hometown Fear of the Dawn album release shows on April 8 and 9, 2022 at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre, which unexpectedly became more special than originally advertised.

During a performance of The White Stripes’ “Hotel Yorba,” White turned to his girlfriend Olivia Jean (a member of the band The Black Belles)–who was performing on stage with him–and asked her to marry him. With White receiving a “yes” from Olivia Jean, the couple returned for an encore, where they were joined by Third Man Records co-founder Ben Swank, who officiated the couple’s onstage wedding ceremony.

Although the Toronto tour stop didn’t feature any surprise nuptials, it was still an exciting and memorable evening of live music.

A blue curtain bathed in light hid the performers onstage, while their silhouettes signalled the impending performance.

White and his backing band–bassist Dominic Davis, keyboardist Quincy McCrary, and drummer Daru Jones–were revealed to concertgoers as the curtain was raised, with the quartet launching into a searing performance of the Fear of the Dawn track “Taking Me Back.”

Dressed in reflective work pants and a black bomber jacket, the blue-haired guitarist seemed to be slightly overdressed for the warm evening at the outdoor ampitheatre. Sweat could be seen dripping out of the sleeve of his jacket, whenever a close up of his guitar playing was shown on the venue’s big screens.

White rarely stood still the entire evening, sprinting and leaping around the stage, while frequently directing the crowd to jump and clap along. One of the few moments of stillness from White came when he traded his guitar for a seat behind an upright piano to perform The Raconteurs’ “You Don’t Understand Me.”

Fans of White’s other musical projects would be pleased to know that more than half of the 23-song setlist were “covers,” drawing from his catalogue with The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather (as well as covers of tracks by Big Sugar and The D.O.C.)

White and his band were completely in sync the entire evening, frequently performing jam versions of several tracks, extending them well past their original runtime. With an electrifying slide-guitar performance of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” Jack White brought the evening–and the final encore–to a close.