Concert Reviews

In a return to his blues and garage rock origins, White showed Boston that, 14 years after the end of The White Stripes, he’s still at the top of his game.

By Darin Zullo

February 18, 2025 | 6:17 PM

3 minutes to read

The stage at Roadrunner Boston was bathed in an electric blue that perfectly matched the cover of “No Name,” the newest album from Jack White.

Wasting no time after appearing on the “Saturday Night Live” 50th Anniversary celebration, White launched into his Monday night set with impeccable energy and focus.

Throughout the night, White played songs from his solo albums and his work with The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and, of course, The White Stripes.

Formed in 1997 with Meg White, his wife at the time, The White Stripes remain White’s biggest claim to fame. Active until 2011, the duo had several huge hits, including “Fell in Love with a Girl,” “We’re Going to be Friends,” and “Seven Nation Army,” which has earned its place as one of the most iconic sports anthems of all time — both in Boston and worldwide.

White started his set with “Old Scratch Blues,” “That’s How I’m Feeling,” and “It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking),” all songs from the tour’s namesake album. But, he quickly reminded the audience how much more he has to share from his 30-year career.

After some improvisational slide guitar, White launched into “Top Yourself” by The Raconteurs and “Hotel Yorba” by The White Stripes. As the first White Stripes song of the night, “Hotel Yorba” took the crowd’s excitement to new heights. Based on past setlists from the tour, most fans could go in expecting to hear some White Stripes classics, but it was a special moment for older fans who heard how a 23-year-old track could still sound fresh.

Keeping things simple but fresh was the theme of the night for White, all the way down to his leather jacket and black T-shirt. With “No Name,” White’s goal was to return to his blues and garage rock roots. To further remind the crowd of this mission, he covered “Electric Funeral” by Black Sabbath before diving back into The White Stripes’ discography with “Cannon.”

Aside from the occasional shout-out to Boston, White let his guitar do the talking. Though he stayed active onstage and hyped the crowd up, he kept the focus on the music, calling out to the crowd in riffs instead of words. For some fans, this was exactly what they wanted, but if the cheers from the crowd when White did call out to them were any indication, others were hoping for more stage banter.

With a set length of around 90 minutes, the show may have seemed unconventionally short to some, but as White himself told fans, that’s the way he likes it. In the end, this choice paid off, as White kept the energy high throughout the night. Any time it seemed like White was going to slow things down, it didn’t last long. In this sense, his pulse on the crowd’s energy was perfect.

To close out the main set, White and his backup band played a few more White Stripes songs (including “Hello Operator”), “I Cut Like a Buffalo” by The Dead Weather, and “What’s the Rumpus?” from “No Name.” It didn’t take long for the band to return for an encore, leading with “Archbishop Harold Holmes” from “No Name.”

After some White Stripes classics (“Black Math” and “Fell in Love with a Girl”) and solo picks (“Freedom at 21,” “Lazaretto,” and “Underground,”) White gave the crowd the moment they had all been waiting for with “Seven Nation Army.” In a defining moment for any White Stripes fan, the energy between White and the crowd reached its peak as fans chanted out the anthem’s iconic guitar riff.

White closed the show by thanking the band, the audience, and PINKLIDS, who opened for White and are performing at Boston Calling later this year.

Despite White’s lack of conversation with the crowd, he had no shortage of love for Boston. Like many other Roadrunner shows, $0.25 from every ticket went to The Shout Syndicate, a Boston-based fundraiser which funds youth-led arts programs across Greater Boston.

White returns to Roadrunner Tuesday night for a second show before taking the No Name tour to France later this week.

Setlist for Jack White at Roadrunner Boston, Feb. 17, 2025

• Old Scratch Blues
• That’s How I’m Feeling
• It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking)
• Top Yourself
• Hotel Yorba
• Broken Boy Soldier
• Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath cover)
• Cannon
• I Think I Smell a Rat
• Hello Operator
• I Cut Like a Buffalo
• What’s the Rumpus?
• I’m Slowly Turning Into You

Encore

• Archbishop Harold Holmes
• Black Math
• Freedom at 21
• Fell in Love with a Girl
• Lazaretto
• Underground
• Seven Nation Army

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