Jack White & Cautious Clay @ CMCU Amphitheater

An actual nice summer evening in Charlotte and A & I get to the venue early enough to catch Cautious Clay open the evening.  A mix of soul, R&B, jazz and smooth rock, this guy is talented.  In the space of a 45 minute sand he sang with the voice of an angel, played guitar, saxophone and clarinet.  We even got a bit of beat-box-flute.  Definitely not the kind of opener I'd match with what was about to happen, but a good start nonetheless.

A DJ who spoke louder than the music playing filled the space as road crews broke down and set up, and I knew the set was going to be great when he played Melvins' Honeybucket to bring Jack White and band onto the stage.  The band started with a warm up jam and when White arrived on stage, engines were already at 60 and within seconds exploded to 100.  Taking Me Back had the crowd going from the beginning.  Black Math, 3 songs in, was a barn burner, as would be all the White Stripes songs he played.  A mid-set Hotel Yorba and Fell In Love With A Girl was a highlight for the night for me.  It took us back to 2003 seeing the White Stripes in Vegas not long after we moved there.  White played tight with the band.  Sometimes it looked like they were just playing for each other and not a 3,000 strong sold out crowd.  Yet the energy the four-piece put out was pulsating.  There was no rest for band or crowd alike until after We Are Going To Be Friends and I'm Slowly Turning Into You finished the set.  It was a quick break before the band were back on and the Raconteur's Steady As She Goes got the crowd going again.  What's The Trick from his latest album preceded the last song.  Everyone knew it was coming but I wasn't expecting the high energy reaction to Seven Nation Army that Charlotte gave.  Was a great finish to a great night.

I've now seen The White Stripes, The Raconteurs & Jack White, and would happily go back tomorrow to see any of them again.

Jack White Setlist

The Crap Facts:
This is my 478th concert.
This is my 13th show at CMCU Amphitheater
This is my 94th show in Charlotte
This is my 112th show in North Carolina.
This is my 281st concert in the US.
Cautious Clay are the 551st band I've seen
Jack White is the 552nd band I’ve seen.

Jack White is the 200th time I've seen a band in North Carolina.