Sitthixay Ditthavong, Invision, AP
Lollapalooza 2012 is over, with Jack White sending thousands on their way out with a loud 19-song set that featured cuts from all of his bands.
This marked my fourth time I've seen Jack as a solo artist, and thanks to some early maneuvering, I ended up about 20 to 30 feet back from the front rail. The ground was fairly dry there, thanks to a covering of what looked like kitty litter, but the smell still had a manure tinge to it. And after a few initial pushes, the crowd finally found that "I guess we'll just lean on each other even though we're strangers" balance, sharing all the sweat and the screams.
White kicked things off with "Sixteen Saltines," firing off his riffs while backed by his all-male band, Los Buzzardos. It's been written about plenty that he's doing these shows without a concrete set list, calling out songs impulsively, often forcing his band to scramble to switch instruments. At this show, it seemed like he was going more off the rails than the past times I've seen him, preceding some of the songs with improvised guitar noise. One big change from previous gigs was his performance of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" on piano instead of guitar, adding a much bluesier feel to the song while the rest of the band kept it heavy.
The early portion of the set included "Wasting My Time," "Hypocritical Kiss," a medley featuring "Nitro" and "John the Revelator," "The Same Boy You've Always Known" and "Take Me With You When You Go." Though there was much improv, it was obviously planned that he would switch off to his all-woman band, the Peacocks, midway through the show, with the band sharing instruments instead of switching the setup like they've done at
