Kevin Bronson on April 15th, 2015

0

Who: Jack White on the Main Stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: Messianic presence.
Memorable Because: Perhaps the best thing about White’s visceral headlining set is that all the kids posted up to get a spot to see schmaltz&B artist the Weeknd afterward had to sit through all 1 hour 45 minutes of it. It was a bloodletting that found White dipping into the White Stripes’ catalog for hits like “Hello Operator,” “Hotel Yorba,” “Ball and Biscuit,” “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and “Seven Nation Army” (the scorching finale), resuscitating the Racounteurs’ “Steady As She Goes,” plumbing the best of his solo work (like “That Black Bat Licorice”) and covering Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” It felt like a thrill ride throughout, with White, his ducktail mussed by the desert breeze and his own pinballing around the stage, calling audibles and playing off his bandmates, especially all-world drummer Daru Jones. At times White seemed to be almost rooting around in the closet for the very essence of rock ’n’ roll, and his crew (including bassist Dominic Davis, violinist-singer Lillie Mae Rische, multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin and keyboardist Dean Fertita) helped him find some aha moments. If White’s guitar prowess wasn’t a loud enough statement, he took a few moments to do some pulpiteering as well. “Pick a band from your local town and buy their records,” he said. And later, after shouting out to the artists he set was booked up against, he said: “I hope you all realize for a few seconds out of your day, every day, that music is sacred. Music is sacred. Music is sacred. Music is sacred!” Weekend 2 is not to be missed — especially since White just announced that after a short acoustic tour (dates and cities TBA), he will be “taking a break from performing live for a long period of time.”
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Tyler, the Creator: Uh … gnar?
— K.B. (Photos via jackwhiteiii.com)

More Coachella mini-reviews