When I first was introduced to Jack White it was the year 2001. He was a boy with red pants with his "sister" Meg singing their candy cane blues. It was love at first listen. Album after album the infatuation grew; White Blood Cells, Elephant, Get Behind me Satan, Icky Thump. Jack could do no wrong. It was the year 2007. White Stripes were on tour promoting Icky Thump and they were playing in Austin, TX, a mere 200 miles away. Tickets went on sale and sold out online in like 5 minutes for a venue that holds an intimate 1800 people. I wasn't one of the lucky ones, or was I? The White Stripes canceled the tour long before they reached Austin TX, citing Meg's anxiety. And it was over. Or so we thought.
By then we had Jack's first so-called side project, The Raconteurs. This was kind of like the White Stripes, but with other musicians (no disrespect intended to the lovely and talented Meg). It was a similar blues-inspired rock, but this time with a full band. This time Jack was sharing the spot light and lead vocals with his Detroit old friend Brendan Benson. To me, this was Jack growing up a bit. No more red pants, no more red white and black. This was a maturing Jack, and I was loving every minute of it. Broken Boy Soldiers followed immediately by Consolers of the Lonely. I caught them on tour in Dallas, TX in 2008. As much I was loving the new project, I couldn't help but wonder, Will we ever see Jack and Meg together again?
Then we were hit with the bombshell (literally) of the Dead Weather. Jack has yet another "side project" super group. This time with fellow Raconteur "Little Jack" Lawrence on bass and Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age. But what is this about? Jack White, our guitar hero, is now on drums and "Baby Ruthless" Alison Mosshart (of the Kills) on lead vocals? I was blown away. This was still a very bluesy influenced music, but much darker; nothing like I had ever heard before. Jack morphed again, this time into a Darker-Grown-Up-Jack wearing nothing but black. The red and white jack from ten years ago was slipping further and further away. I caught the Dead Weather on tour in Dallas in 2009 for the Horehound tour in and in Memphis, TN in 2010 for the Sea of Cowards tour.
I recently read that Jack implied in Vanity Fair that he and Meg may be reuniting. He said "We thought we'd do a lot of things that we'd never done: a full tour of Canada, a documentary, coffee-table book, live album, a boxed set. It was one long project that took almost three years. ~ Now that we've gotten a lot of that out of our system, Meg and I can get back in the studio and start fresh."
Jack is re-married. Meg is re-married. You knew they were not really brother and sister, right? We have all grown up a bit. Now the question begs. Can Jack White put back on the red pants?
We'll just have to wait and see. Is Jack the same boy we've always known? Or has he grown up to a point of no return?
