Show Review: Jack White

Show Review: Jack White
Words Josh [He/Him]

29th Aug 2026 - City Hall, Newcastle (UK)
Jack White: Blues Rock/Garage (Detroit, Michigan)
Jack White: Guitar and lead vocals
And backing band consisting of
Patrick Keeler (drums), Dominic Davis (bass), and Bobby Emmet (keyboard/keys)
Photo + Video credits: David James Swanson

Photos by David James Swanson

Jack White at this point is a master of his craft, from Third Man Records, Thirdman Hardware, the community built around Third Man itself (seen first hand, thank you TMR and all the lovely pop up people you were lovely), the uniformity across his bands, his own projects, his stage dress, and even down to his own equipment (and at one point hair) Jack White is meticulous in how he sells himself and invites you into a carefully crafted world in which you’re invited to drop all pretense, stop questioning, buy into the idea and just have fun, one of these being the implementation of the somewhat controversial ‘phone bags’.

Now true, there is some weird new ape with stick taken away feeling about not being able to thumb arse about on instagram and melting your brain for a bit in between anything happening and honestly after having tried it I’m absolutely on board. I can totally see how it could be an inconvenience, which is fair because you then have to flag someone down to open it again if emergency hits or whatever but it’s all crafted on a system of sacrifice, the more you can give in to it, the much more you’ll enjoy it and you really do. It was refreshing to be much more present, see more eyes focused and not having to worry about replying to messages or watch the show through raised arms and phone screens, which can only have been a bonus too for the energy of everyone on stage.

Jack’s newest album ‘Frozen Charlotte’, builds upon 2024’s ‘No Name’ which in itself felt like an organised descent from the experimental phase started by 2018’s ‘Boarding House Reach’, more focused and incorporated in ‘Fear of the Dawn’, not a descent in quality but more stripping back the electronics to focus on the garage rock blues pioneered in his early career but with the definition and confidence only gained through experience, which has been plenty had by this point.

From the moment he comes on stage, projecting true showmanship Jack works on riling up the crowd into a roar before a single instrument has even been manned yet which was a task made easier as the crowd had already erupted just seeing him walking out of the shadows, everyone else readies themselves and starts warming up as Jack reaches for his guitar after sending the crowd into a frenzy before launching into an intro jam, which from the first roaring chord set the tone for the entire show.

A divisive topic between music listeners attending shows, do you want the artist to sound like the records or better? Personally Jack does something astounding here by doing BOTH.
I’m unaware whether the soundperson was inhouse or a touring hire but either way, respect.
Whenever I’ve been to see bands live, I’ll always go with the expectation that it won’t sound 100% like the record, it can’t, right? There’s gear they might have used in the studio that they don't have, post production, playing different, yadda yadda…

Nope

Maybe for the first time, what I could hear sounded 1:1, the consistency of the notes, the tone of his voice, the overall tone of the band, it was uncanny, I was hearing and watching the voice I’d been hearing since the early 2000’s and had undergone so many visual changes, right there on the stage with the same definition and quality…unreal.

After blazing through the opener ‘That’s How I’m Feeling’ the die is further cast, not only would we be getting the best of his recent solo work but there would be a lot of reaching back to bring back some classics from all 3 of his other bands, mainly being pulling heavy from The White Stripes catalog (7/24 songs) and don’t mistake this for a complaint, to be able to be present to hear revitalised, retooled versions of these songs but injected with the power of 3 (heh) other members, including Patrick Keeler from Raconteurs on drums, Bobby Emmett who was an absolute monster on the organ and Dominic John Davies who’s been filling in Bass for Jack’s touring bands for a while now, to fill out the sound and made them feel much more realised.

Apart from minor moments between guitar changes and going off before the start of the encore, the set was full steam ahead with no gasps for air (speaking of, please Newcastle o2 City Hall, Fans/Air Con, anything please, please god) swinging effortlessly through every point in his career (again Dead Weather, Buzzing) with the instrumentation slotting itself in effortlessly, most of these songs were made for 2 and now being played by 4 so fill out beautifully, especially with the organ going absolutely insane and at one point battling riff for riff with Jack’s fuzzed the fuck out guitar.
Sick.

The second set inverts the format of the last, focusing heavier on his solo work with some of the older projects work being sprinkled in (Lazaretto was my personal favourite although I appreciate The Union forever was out of nowhere) and finishing with the heavy hitters, Steady as She Goes snuck in quietly through a vamp as Jack finally had a quick chat with audience as the end drew near, the second that scrappy old acoustic that was the signal that the big finish was coming,

As soon as that first booming, acoustic octave note is hit, something primal kicks in from years of listening either through the old youtube tutorials, mtv/vh1/kerrang/scuzz or mp3 players on a long trip, twinned with the consistency in Jack’s voice and playing, it was like living in not just that moment in time but every moment of time that song had been involved in personally through the years. The slide sections absolutely screamed, the audience was deafening and just like that it was all over.

I’ve been a fan of Jack White for almost the entire time I’ve been playing guitar, he served as a good anchor that even though you can go as crazy with equipment, crazy shows or complicated composition, sometimes simplicity when done properly can be just as effective and having spent the day with Third Man at the pop up and speaking with the even harder core fans, it’s worked very effectively for Mr White.

(Also again please, O2, look into the cooling by god it was hot in there)