Ever heard of The Vault? It’s possibly Jack White’s most effective way of convincing his fans to part with their hard-earned cash. For twenty dollars a month, you get an exclusive package from The Vault every third month. The average package includes a single, a 12”, and a shirt or some other little collectible. They’ve got a website too, that they always say they’ll update with cool stuff, but you know how that goes.
Anyway, I’d say that The Vault has been worth it, just because of the huge number of White Stripes rarities that we’ve accumulated as members. The latest package includes a recording of the final White Stripes concert, something that every obsessive fan needs.
July 31, 2007 sounds like it was an awesome night to be at the Snowden Grove Park Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi—it also sounds like just another night for Jack and Meg. If you’ve ever heard or seen a White Stripes performance before, you know just how much those two put into every single song. You can hear that same energy and enthusiasm all over this record. It’s not like they knew that this would be their final show either—Meg’s anxiety attack or something forced them to cancel the rest of their tour (which was going to roll through Chicago. I am still bitter).
Their only live appearance after this concert was in February 2009, where they played a few songs on Conan O’Brien’s final episode of Late Night. Meg was on rhythm guitar or something, and wasn’t looking very good. What I mean by that is she looked sickly—stop making assumptions.
Anyway, in summation, this is more live White Stripes music—yeah, it sounds like pretty much every other live recording of theirs that I’ve heard, but guess what, they’ve all sounded awesome. And yes, it’s also cool to know that y’all most likely will never get to hear it in its entire double-album glory.
Swole Ear 