Jack White stars in one of the most epic shows of 2023 - No, it's not too early to tell - at L.A.'s Belasco: Concert Review

"What's the trick," Jack White asks, in one of his most recent songs. played, "to make my love last?" That's a good rhetorical question, to which anyone who's seen him live lately can provide many tangible answers - all there to be grasped during a long set to cut the breath on Friday night at the intimate Belasco Theater in downtown L.A.

No one in rock 'n' roll puts on more exciting shows these days, and there there's probably a show-biz "trick" or two in there. The fact that he doesn't start any gigs with a fully mapped out setlist (as his DJ/hype pointed out just before the band performed each night) is like catnip to cultivate contingent affection. of fans who believe that there is latent value in each performance having its own personality. But the worst jam band in the world can mix it all up every night without having much to show for spontaneity alone. It's not purely unpredictability that can make a person want to up the ante and follow White for a few shows (or at least just stream or download a bunch of them on Nugs .net). It's in the moments you see him calling audibles with three of the best sidemen on the planet, and it's certainly in his extended solos. But it's also in his impromptu screams - vocally or on guitar - and the way he dances backwards in white dollars while peeling off anything that might peel the wallpaper off. White has that Jimi Hendrix energy, but Hendrix filtered through Memphis' own brand of swagger. Because either you have a bit of Elvis in you or you don't.

What audiences were getting at Belasco's show - announced just a week in advance - s 'elevated to a "friends and family" concert, with White actually invoking that phrase as the concert drew to a close. Naturally he added an addendum about how everyone was F&F for the night, but that can put some spring in a rocker step when the guest list is full of people they actually know and want to impress. Friday's show had Olivia Jean, who performed on the first night of her "Supply Chain Issues" tour last April and married him the same night, returning for the opening act of this tour's postscript gig. White shouted other names during the set – one number was dedicated to “Lars and Jessica” (Ulrich, that is, presumably), and other names checked as in the house included Tom Morello, Josh Homme, Jack Black, Conan O'Brien and two cats - Cat Power and Doja Cat. It's not like you ever feel like White is holding back a bit in Tulsa, but maybe it doesn't hurt to have a contingent like that if you're hoping to get a 55 recall. minutes. ("We were supposed to finish about four songs ago," he said about two-thirds into what was roughly a second set.) Or maybe that longevity had just as much to do with end-of-marathon energy. , as White's schedule was finally set to darken for a while, following Saturday's iHeartRadio set at The Forum and two just-announced final concerts at his own Blue Room club space in Nashville this week.

That it was mostly hardcore fans who got the tickets for the Belasco show (an offer of registration was to Third Man Vault members) was evident in the number of attendees carrying poster tubes, which were not provided at the merchandising booth. It's the serious devotees who know that, if you're going to buy a limited edition show screenprint that will sell out before the main performance starts, and it's an SRO show, you have to bring your own tube. Speaking of YouTube, White was last seen headlining in Los Angeles last summer at the YouTube Theater, which offered a nice combination of front standing room and rear two-thirds seating. But it was nice to have it at Belasco, an old cinema and performance hall until recently mostly inactive that has recently been a good hosting ground for rock shows, one that hasn't had a character-sacrificing rehabilitation work, and a particularly enjoyable addition to the city's concert scene for those who prefer a more moist, less polished experience.

As is often the case with White's shows on tour, much of the first set of songs came from his two albums of 2022, with three of the first four gonzo “Fear of the Dawn” – interrupted only by a promising White Stripes song, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” – then two more from the sweetest "Entertin...