Jack White was my inspiration on guitar. The music of The White Stripes is simple, but how he executed it is what made him unlike any other. He would play a plastic guitar, run it through a Sears brand amp and use every defect and imperfection to make something beautiful.

They were my favorite live act, where on any night the audience could get something new. Nothing was prepared. Nothing was written down. It all happened based on the mood and crowd interactions. Their free flying, anything was possible attitude made them stand out amongst other successful commercial acts. Over the years the music industry would change how they were perceived but they remained true to giving it their all, never making it easy on themselves and always being creative.

Perhaps that is why it makes it so hard to come to terms of their break up. They could have carried on making records and going through the motions, instead they took the road less travelled and ended the journey before it ruined what they had.

It is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve What is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way.

I often think back to the road trips with friends in 2005 and 2007, or how Astro will always raise my spirits, regardless of how tired or what mood I am in. The memories I have associated with The White Stripes really will last a life time and I’m grateful for what I have, and with anything good, I just wanted a little more.

I will remember The White Stripes for a lot of antics with the media, a self perpetuated mystery, and interesting music videos. When all that is taken away it is easy to forget how much emotion a simple song can carry and I think the performance of White Moon in the last scene from the 2009 documentary (The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights) is a fitting scene to have your career fade to black on.

Farewell Jack and Meg and thank you for allowing us to join you on this trip.

I have seen the Under Great White Northern Lights documentary several times now and there is something powerful and haunting about how the movie concludes. Ben Blackwell tells Jack and Meg that after a decade together they can still pick up their original instruments and be as if nothing has changed. Then Jack looks over to Meg who returns the look, they share a glance and then Meg looks away and fade to white, the interview is over.

The piano performance of White Moon to close the documentary is amazing. The story goes that after their 10th anniversary show in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, after the celebrations and after parties Jack found a piano and started playing it. I was amazed at the passion that came across and how the song ends. It was a surprise to me and I certainly don’t want to spoil anything, but after a powerful, loud and intense 90 minute movie this quiet and intimate end was stunning.

On my re-watch of the documentary I continued watching through the credits and when they got to the ‘thank you’ all but four cities from the 2007 tour were thanked, including Edmonton.

I was a big fan of the Under Nova Scotia Lights concert. I had listened to the audio rip of the DVD prior to watching the video so I knew what to expect, but this just goes to show that seeing is believing. What I thought were average performances of songs on the audio were elevated to another level when I saw the video. The several minute tease of Death Letter made more sense when you saw Jack tuning the Kay guitar. I will never tire of seeing Jack and Meg interact on stage, the glances and nods signalling when one song changes into another.

A nice moment happened between the person doing bagpipes on Prickly Thorn was after his solo he looked at Jack as if to say “I’m good, your turn” and Jack gave him an approving look back. The subtleties, the things that an audio recording can never show made this concert really special. If a show has Astro, Death Letter, Black Math and Boll Weevil it is guaranteed to be good, but when you include Aluminum, Brick House Wood House and Lafayette Blues then it goes into a different category of awesome.

Enough of that, let’s talk packaging! The way this boxset is put together deserves a Grammy in the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package category. Everything about this is top notch and puts my Battlestar Galactica boxset to incredible shame. The 208 page hardcover photography book is amazing and captured the on-stage and off-stage moments so well.

One thing is obvious: the amount of vinyl I have I need to add a record player to the stereo system as soon as we relocate into a house so I can experience all of this in a new way again.

We travelled 1800KM’s, saw five concerts, experienced torrential rain, had a near miss with a deer and made great memories all over the long weekend.

By now most are aware of the secret show Jack and Meg performed at a Youth Center last weekend. I made several phone calls before rushing off with Jenna in tow.

When we arrived we were able to get a decent spot infront of Jack. Everyone I called was able to make it into the show, even Aaron made it in who just came in the back door when the main entrance was closed to the amount of people.

The experience was surreal and a treat that lead into a fantastic main show on Saturday. As I wrote earlier, the setlist was amazing. Songs were played from The White Stripes and White Blood Cells that I thought I would never hear. It was a gem and listening back to the show I am reminded of how great it was.

Six hours after going to sleep I was and getting ready for the trip to Saskatoon. The trip was peaceful and we encountered little traffic. Obviously Aaron and I had spent a lot of time in a car together to this point. Although with the addition of Wendy she livened up the ride as we talked music and discussed our new empire: STB. I will save you the back story.

We got into Saskatoon around 1:30PM but could not check into the hotel until 4:00PM. We ventured off down the road in search of a hotspot so we could get an update on a Saskatoon free show.

We ended up in Starbucks and as I logged onto the wireless connection a phone call came in from a Saskatoon connection telling me the news. Aaron and Wendy grabbed their drinks and we rushed back to the car. Thanks to Aaron’s GPS unit we were able to head in the direction of the secret show.

Everything seemed good until the navigator took us to an empty parking lot. Minutes were ticking by and we felt our window of opportunity close. We felt that we should turn right at a corner.

We asked an elderly couple walking down the street if they knew where Eastview Bowl was. Either they did not hear us, or were messing with us, but both shook their heads. Not more than 100m behind them was the bowling lane. Score one for you Grandma!

We jumped out of the car and ran inside to see a crowd gathered around several lanes. Anticipation was building and then Jack and Meg crossed the lanes with pins in hand and rocked out. This moment was just as surreal as the one from the day before.

A band I had seen only from afar was now six feet away from me and playing an intimate show for us. The set was shorter but featured a new batch of rarities, and one song (Red Bowling Ball Ruth) which had only been played a handful of times.

The rest of the week flew by. I spent my time listening back to the concerts, reliving the moments and reading about the experiences of others from the weekend. It was truly an amazing moment and one I will not forget for some time.

The good next kept rolling last week as last Friday Matthew Good announced a tour date in Edmonton. Obviously I was excited and on Thursday after a little bit of chaos buying tickets I was able to get upper balcony, front row. This spot is similar to where I sat last year.

With the conclusion of The White Stripes marathon there should be less Jack and Meg talk on here. Most of June was dominated by candy cane conversations but don’t be surprised if a post flares up about how great the Edmonton show was or how timid Meg acts when she sings; it will be just me reminiscing about this past weekend.

In the afternoon the new song from The White Stripes Icky Thump was released to the airwaves and I was able to get my hand on a digital copy where I listened to it over and over again.

It took a few listens but I got into it and the return of guitars have be excited for this record.

As I got in my car Sonic started playing Icky Thump and I rolled the windows down and enjoyed a beautiful drive home with a fantastic song.

While waiting for an early release of Lost to finish download I checked a White Stripes message board for details on their Canadian tour and there were dates posted!

Obviously traveling to Yukon or Northwest Territories is not feasible but the local ones are. To see the whole tour click here. But the following is what I have in mind.

June 29, 2007
The Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary, AB

June 30, 2007
Shaw Convention Center
Edmonton, AB

July 1, 2007
TCU Place
Saskatoon, SK

July 2, 2007
MTS Centre
Winnipeg, MB

Obviously I will be going Calgary and Edmonton, but Saskatoon and Winnipeg are tempting. If you are going to Saskatchewan, you might as well go to Manitoba, right?

I am filled with utter excitement. And in an hour Vancouver starts their series against Anaheim. I don’t care what they say Wednesday, you do rule!