Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Billy Strings, Goose Sturgill Simpson, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Down in the Hollow Billy Strings (w/ Leftover Salmon) 10/19/24 Huntsville, AL
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Trey Anastasio, Sturgill Simpson, Widespread Panic, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: The Trey Anastasio Band track is exclusively available via LivePhish.
Gotta Jibboo Trey Anastasio Band 10/5/24 Memphis, TN
The latest round of Jack White’s “No Name” tour recordings finds unparalleled, shattering versions of songs from the album of the same name, new interpretations of White Stripes classics, and impressive bust out covers of songs by the MC5, the Stooges, Cream, Hound Dog Taylor and THREE songs originally by blues master Robert Johnson.
Songs made up on the spot, with improvised lyrics? No less than six of them.
We are living through a truly wonderful, exciting time for fans of Jack White, rock and roll and the electrifying energy unleashed within these live performances.
It’s one of the hardest tickets to get, but you don’t have to miss a note. Stream these new shows and Jack White’s entire archival concert catalog now exclusively on nugs. Hi-res downloads are also available. Sign up for a free trial now to get instant access.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore the whole catalog and start your free trial here.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Sturgill Simpson, Goose, My Morning Jacket, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Rollover The String Cheese Incident 9/28/24 LaFayette, NY
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Sturgill Simpson, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Goose, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Trey Anastasio, My Morning Jacket, Goose, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Trey Anastasio Band track is only available via LivePhish.
Kitty’s Back Trey Anastasio Band (w/ Bruce Springsteen)
9/15/24 Asbury Park, NJ
An exclusive archive from Jack White just dropped for streaming in the nugs.net app, featuring a batch of shows from the 2024 ‘No Name’ Tour! Sign up for a free trial now to hear all ten shows plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog.
South Korea to Detroit to Sweden is one of the more ludicrous three show tour routings in recent memory, so it’s only fitting that the performances across Jack White’s current run of gigs have been equally as ludicrous. Day in and day out, these performances – announced mere days in advance, selling out in an instant – are garnering laudatory praise and “best concert I’ve ever been to” reviews across the board. A quarter century into his touring career, Jack White is playing the best shows of his life and the audio here is all the proof you need.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore the whole catalog and start your free trial here.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Jack White, My Morning Jacket, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Mahgeetah My Morning Jacket
9/10/24 Wilmington, NC
We’re excited to bring you another edition of the “Gratefully Deadicated” playlist, a regular compilation to showcase the continued impact and inspiration drawn from the Grateful Dead catalog. Focusing on August 2024, we’re featuring performances from Counting Crows, Greensky Bluegrass, The String Cheese Incident, as they celebrate the legacy of the legendary songbook.
Subscribers can stream this month’s playlist now, or sign up for a free trial to listen. The playlist is only accessible in the nugs mobile app, but you can save it to your library to listen on desktop. Explore the songs and the artists included below, and know that the music never stops!
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Santana, moe., and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Billy Strings, Jack White, Umphrey’s McGee, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Phish, Spafford, My Morning Jacket, and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Phish track is only available via LivePhish.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting choice tracks curated from the week in live music. Check out this week’s playlist below, featuring professionally mixed recordings from Wilco,Phish, Trampled By Turtles, Bruce Hornsby and more.
The #WeeklyLiveStash premieres each Friday at 6pm ET on SiriusXM channel 309, with encore airings on Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
nugs subscribers can stream the week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the app (playlist will only open on mobile, but can be saved to your Library for desktop playback). nugs subscribers can also visit their My Account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Phish track is only available via LivePhish.
August’s ‘Third Man Thursday’ release brings us a highly anticipated batch of official show audio from Jack White, featuring the first six shows of Jack White’s ‘No Name’ 2024 tour! Mixed and mastered by Bill Skibbe of Third Man Mastering, these shows are streaming exclusively in the nugs app with a free trial, and available to order on CD or hi-res downloads.
From Third Man Records’ archivist Ben Blackwell:
A little over two weeks ago Jack White and his band began what can only be described as an outright thrilling stretch of shows. From Nashville to Georgia to South Korea to Detroit, the shows feature the first ever live performances of songs from White’s critically acclaimed ‘No Name’ album in addition unexpected covers of gems like the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” and no shortage of showstopping jamming between Jack and long-time bassist Dominic Davis along with newly enlisted drummer Patrick Keeler (the Greenhornes, the Raconteurs) and Bobby Emmett (The Sights) on keys. As well as plenty of fan-favorite White Stripes tracks like “Black Math” and “Fell In Love With A Girl” and wild JW solo classics like “Lazaretto” and “Sixteen Saltines.”
Stream or order these shows now, only on nugs.net. Stay tuned for more Third Man Third Thursday monthly Jack White live drops as the ‘No Name’ tour continues to wind its way across the globe.
Get the Official Jack White Concert Audio on nugs.net
Start a free 7-day trial now for unlimited ad-free streaming of these new shows. You’ll also get more exclusive releases from the entire Third Man Records catalog including The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, plus our full catalog of artist-official audio and video recordings ranging from Pearl Jam to Bruce Springsteen, My Morning Jacket, Metallica, Dead & Company, Billy Strings, Wilco and many more.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Phish ft. Billy Strings, moe., The String Cheese Incident, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Phish track is only available via LivePhish.
The Moma Dance Phish (w/ Billy Strings) 8/6/24 Grand Rapids, MI
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Phish, Neal Francis, Dawes, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Phish track is only available via LivePhish.
We’re excited to bring you another edition of the “Gratefully Deadicated” playlist, a regular compilation to showcase the continued impact and inspiration drawn from the Grateful Dead catalog. Focusing on June 2024, we’re featuring performances from Holly Bowling, Orebolo, moe., Counting Crows, and more as they celebrate the legacy of the legendary songbook.
Subscribers can stream this month’s playlist now, or sign up for a free trial to listen. The playlist is only accessible in the nugs mobile app, but you can save it to your library to listen on desktop. Explore the songs and the artists included below, and know that the music never stops!
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Phish, moe., Greensky Bluegrass, Billy Strings, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Phish track is only available via LivePhish.
Sign up for a free trial now to hear this newly mastered show plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog.
Say A Little Prayer For Her and Say A Little Prayer For Yourself
The White Stripes played fifteen shows in 1999. Only three of those occurred in any approximate vicinity of others (the late September sojourn opening for Pavement) meaning each one of the shows from ‘99 exists in a vacuum, with new songs flying in and different arrangements making themselves known, no real established running order or pacing/tempo/meter/cadence. All but four of these shows were recorded in some manner, which still feels like a tiny miracle given how unknown and unheralded the band was at this juncture.
Outside of the Stripes show from the Gold Dollar, August 14th 1997, this July 30th, 1999 gig is the White Stripes show that I have listened to the most in my life. No doubt I immediately popped this sumbitch into the cassette deck of the ‘95 Ford Taurus on the way home from the show and would continue to come back to it for years. It lives in my head rent free, iconic and memorized and encased in amber, a memory reinforced by the consistent reliving of it over the past twenty-five years that it’s foundationally unparalleled in my understanding of the band.
When I listen now, what immediately grabs me is the piano. The piano!!! Oh man, it felt like a huge coup to get the powers-that-be at the Bag to actually let Jack play the thing, a seemingly “fancy” instrument that lived on the stage but was always covered up when bands of their ilk were in the house. In comparison, the powers that be would not let the band use the projection/video screen (they softened that stance by the De Stijl album release show the following year).
Twenty years after the show, dear friend (and White Stripes roadie in arms) Brandon Beaver mailed me a stack of Polaroid pictures that I had taken at the show. I had completely forgotten about this, because, well, it wasn’t in the recording. They hadn’t informed my recollection, my mind canon of it all. I was surprised to see the piano, this grand (baby grand?) beast covered in the red-and-white stripes of an American flag that was previously used as a stage backdrop as depicted on the cover of TMR-345. The visual of it all is striking, it is visually compelling and indicates a modicum of extra effort that separated the Stripes from their peers at the time.
Couple that with the fact that in the rehearsals leading up to the show, Jack and Meg had repeatedly practiced a cover of the song “Do You Love Me Now?” originally by the Breeders. I still don’t know why they didn’t play it that night…the moments in rehearsal were solid and worthy of being trotted out on stage. It sounded damn cool. The fact that the band never recorded a version of this song is one of the bigger frustrations in the “Shit The White Stripes Should Have Done” list in my head.
The recording here is the first time that a piano or any keys are ever used live in a White Stripes performance and it’s beautiful.
Terry Cox was the sound man on this night. At the time he was the front-of-house engineer at the Magic Stick, so I’m not really sure why he was at the Magic Bag this evening. But with Terry behind the mixing desk, the band got a more-familiar set of ears working in their favor, as opposed to some rando without a clue as to what the band sounded like. The reverb on vocals “Love Sick” is a prime example of the special touch Terry brought to the mix. Reverb on the snare too. Actually, it’s just a shit ton of reverb. The whole show sounds “BIG” in a way that no other recording from this era ever would. God bless Terry.
“Love Sick” here is the Stripes first ever performance of the song, not even two years old by this point, the highlight of Bob Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind album from 1997. It sounds important. It sounds serious. It sounds like it is a harbinger of bigger things to come.
Followed by “Dead Leaves” which, by this point, still hadn’t truly found its form. A piano take on the song is still a rare outing, so even though it is by far the song the band played most in their career, I’m unclear if it was ever done exclusively on piano again.
The tension here is palpable. Between “Dead Leaves” and “St. James” someone shouts something in the crowd. At 2:04 and again at 2:07. You can just barely hear it. Wouldn’t be a stretch to think they’re screaming “Fuck you!” Whatever is said, Jack responds with “You’re a liar,” echoing Dylan’s retort at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1966 to a member of the crowd shouting “Judas!”
Couple that with the intro to “Astro” where Jack extemporaneously sings “I’m gonna kill my brother Jack” from Meg’s perspective, to the tune of “Three Little Fishies” a child-like number 1 hit from 1939. I recall Meg responding to this moment with a dismissive laugh, but still, I remember feeling uncomfortable. It was awkward.
But at some point, it all changes, the air is cleared, so to speak. Everything feels…understood? Accepted? Light-hearted even? Having thought about this many times over the intervening 25 years, I just know that while the first half of the set embodies a tension, the second half emboldens a joy throughout. Listening now, I smile. I feel happy.
As Jack is ready to end the performance with “Broken Bricks” you can hear Kevin Peyok (The Waxwings, Jack White and The Bricks) and Ko Shih (The Dirtbombs, Ko and The Knockouts) repeatedly yell “SAME BOY!” while Jack is thanking the opening bands the Greenhornes and Clone Defects.
Isn’t it great when folks request an unreleased song? Kevin would know the song from playing it with the Bricks just three weeks earlier, but even so, the three Stripes performances of the song earlier this year were already enough to embed it into the consciousness of fan/friends in teh crow. And with an “aw shucks” manner Jack responds “You wanna hear ‘Same Boy’? Alright I’ll play that.”
Come the encore of “You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket”, another Stripes live debut that wouldn’t see a studio release for another FOUR YEARS, it all is sweet and dare I say wholesome. With just Jack and the piano, here is a worthy reminder that there’s no such thing as an off performance of “Pocket” as the tender emotion is palpable whenever it was performed and only more so if it was just Jack playing it.
With Jack asking “What do you want to hear?” it’s worth noting how rare it is to hear him openly take a request, especially in light of already taking one with “Same Boy.” Funnily enough, we don’t hear anyone yell anything in response. At the culmination of a blistering “Broken Bricks” Jack sheepishly gives notice that the gig is over…that he broke a string and that Meg has mono.
“She’s tuckered out…so say a little prayer for her and say a little prayer for yourself” he offers up. Jack didn’t have to say that. No one would have begrudged the band ending the show at that point without any indication as to why no more songs were performed. It was already a decently full set. But the sincerity, the honesty, the essence of “we have given you our all” coupled with a “you are released” sews up this oddity of a show perfectly.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore The White Stripes catalog and start your free trial here.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Umphrey’s McGee, Houseplant, Dogs in a Pile, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Our next batch of releases from the Snarchives is here!
Continuing to fill out the 2015-2019 experimental period, hear eight shows from that era PLUS one from 2021 and the first live recording release from the Empire Central era – Denver’s Mission Ballroom on June 5, 2022. With a set comprised entirely of songs from the collective’s latest Grammy-winning album plus fan favorites “Shofukan” and “Lingus,” get a feel for the groovy Texas sound that is so prevalent on the record.
To help you get started, we’ve curated a playlist of ten unique tracks, choosing one from each of the new shows. From the expansive Rhodes on “Young Stuff” from Esch-sur-Alzette to the atmospheric composition of “Honiara” from Denver, there’s so much to explore.
1. Young Stuff – May 10, 2017 Esch-sur-Alzette, LUX Chris Bullock leads the way on sax before Bill Laurance really opens things up in the second half on Fender Rhodes.
2. Strawman – June 4, 2017 Aarhus, DK Bullock shines on a clean-tone solo in the main section of this Snarky classic, and guitarist Bob Lanzetti trades with trumpeter Mike “Maz” Maher and violinist Zach Brock on the outro.
3. Beep Box – February 24, 2018 Portland, OR Laurance takes centre stage once again on a moody solo, starting on synth and switching to some wild pitch-bent piano work.
4. Grown Folks – July 8, 2018 Fontainebleu, FR Guitarist Mark Lettieri really takes his time building a vibe with hits from bassist Michael League on the main solo, and Shaun Martin lights up the end with some furious Moog playing.
5. Thing of Gold – May 12, 2019 Boston, MA A keyboard solo on the bridge of this song is an exceptionally rare occurrence, and Justin Stanton’s percussive Rhodes work shines perfectly with textural accompaniment from fellow keyboardists Martin and Bobby Sparks.
6. Quarter Master – June 4, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT Special guest Roosevelt Collier tears up the main solo section with some sparring against Lettieri’s guitar. Not content to finish there, the band goes full blues mode and Maz takes the mic for a cover of SRV’s “Cold Shot.”
7. Flood – October 24, 2019 Copenhagen, DK Lettieri’s gorgeous ambient intro informs his well-crafted solo over this unique lineup’s sound and drummer Jason “JT” Thomas trashes the outro.
8. What About Me? – November 26, 2019 Frankfurt, DE An atypical Rhodes intro from Stanton builds into the song, and legendary saxophonist Chris Potter joins the band and rips a hole through the open solo, continuing through the drum section via aggressive sparring with JT.
9. Chonks – November 5, 2021 Tucson, AZ With Stanton at the lead, League takes a vicious and distorted bass solo on the funk section and Sparks tears apart the outro on whammy clav.
10. Honiara – June 5, 2022 Denver, CO Brock gets angular on the first solo of his own tune and saxophonist Bob Reynolds dials in some subtle delay for the ethereal second part, bringing it to a close over a layered base.
We’re excited to bring you another edition of the “Gratefully Deadicated” playlist, a regular compilation to showcase the continued impact and inspiration drawn from the Grateful Dead catalog. Focusing on June 2024, we’re featuring performances from Goose, The String Cheese Incident, Counting Crows, and more as they celebrate the legacy of the legendary songbook.
Subscribers can stream this month’s playlist now, or sign up for a free trial to listen. The playlist is only accessible in the nugs mobile app, but you can save it to your library to listen on desktop. Explore the songs and the artists included below, and know that the music never stops!
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Umphrey’s McGee, Houseplant, Dogs in a Pile, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Golden Years Umphrey’s McGee (w/ Cory Wong & Daniel Donato) 6/15/24 Morrison, CO
Sign up for a free trial now to hear this newly mastered show plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog.
Jack White: June 14, 2014
Ten years and one week ago, Jack White unleashed what was arguably one of the best performances in the history of the Bonnaroo
festival.
In an expansive field in Manchester, TN, filled with approximately 70,000 fans, White let loose a tour-de-force, two-hour and forty-five minute career-spanning set. From White Stripes songs like “Hotel Yorba” and “Icky Thump” to Raconteurs numbers such as “Top Yourself” and “Steady, As She Goes” through “Blue Blood Blues” by the Dead Weather…not to mention a wide selection of his solo material and covers of two surf rock classics “Pipeline” by the Chantays and “Misirlou” by Dick Dale. And Led Zeppelin’s “The Lemon Song”? He did that too.
To be in the field that evening was to truly have one’s mind blown. As Jack pulled trick after stupefying trick as the set went stratospheric, all I could do was look to Ben Swank next to me and say “Can you even believe this?”
Originally released as a Vault package back in 2014, we’ve updated the setlist to include to previously unlisted covers…snippets of “Cool Drink Of Water Blues” by Tommy Johnson and “Fried My Little Brains” by the Kills both couched within medleys of other songs.
Listening back a decade later, these recordings hit just as hard as the initial blast of soundwaves reverberated off our bodies in that sweaty Tennessee field back then.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore The White Stripes catalog and start your free trial here.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Jack White, Greensky Bluegrass, Eggy, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Goose, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from My Morning Jacket, Goose, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Trey Anastasio track is only available via LivePhish+ at LivePhish.com.
Each week, nugs.net founder Brad Serling brings his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Bruce Springsteen, Santana, The String Cheese Incident, and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Trey Anastasio track is only available via LivePhish+ at LivePhish.com.
The Weekly Live Stash has a new home! After a brief hiatus, we’re excited to announce that nugs.net founder Brad Serling will bring his long-standing radio show to SiriusXM Jam On, debuting every Friday at 6pm ET on channel 309. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, outside of the nugs app, you’ll only find it here. Check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Pearl Jam, Geese, Bruce Springsteen, Daniel Donato and more.
Can’t listen live? There will be encore airings Saturday at 11am ET, Sunday at 3pm ET, and Monday at 9pm ET.
Listen to the premiere live, or nugs subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app (playlist will only open on mobile). nugs subscribers can also visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply.
Note: the Trey Anastasio track is only available via LivePhish+ at LivePhish.com.
Sign up for a free trial now to hear this newly mastered show plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog.
Jack White: July 30, 2014
On July 30th, 2014 Jack White played one of the most captivating live shows of his career. With the friendly confines of Detroit’s Masonic Temple providing as much of a home field advantage as White could ever get, this tour-de-force, three hour plus, 38 song barn-burner of a set spanned the breadth of his recorded career and left all comers in its wake gobsmacked, a testament to the undiminished magnetism of a performer at the height of his powers.
Kicking off at breakneck pace with three sizzling fan favorites from the White Stripes back catalog, the impromptu song selection never loses focus and instead delivers body blow after body blow of unrelenting passion. Inspired, off-the-cuff covers of Beck’s “Devil’s Haircut” to Zeppelin’s “Lemon Song”, Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man” to Junior Wells’ “Hoodoo Man” absolutely delight. White’s Dead Weather bandmates Alison Mosshart and Dean Fertita unexpectedly join onstage for a particularly heavy version of “I Cut Like a Buffalo.” Chock full of delightful stage banter, local references and even a laugh-out-loud takedown of a supposed icon (you’ll have to listen to know exactly), the performance manages to blow everyone’s mind, both satiating desire and yet quizzically also leaving them wanting more…such are the paradoxes of a truly transcendent evening.
Previously only available on a limited edition, one-time only vinyl pressing, Third Man is ecstatic to be able to share this unparalleled recording complete and unedited for the first time, truly the way that it was played on a sweaty Detroit night nearly ten years ago.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore The White Stripes catalog and start your free trial here.
Welcome back to ‘Straight From the Fans’! We love reading about fans’ experiences about both attending and listening to shows – and it’s those transcendent moments of joy and revelation shared that keeps the music discovery going! Each month we’ll curate a list of ten of our favorite fan reviews left in the nugs app, showcasing the best of recent shows and archival releases from the month.
Want to be featured in the future? You’ve got the mic. Share your show-going and listening experiences with us on any live recording in the nugs.net catalog when you subscribe or purchase a download. From any show page in the app or the web player, just hit that “+ Add Review” button and drop your thoughts.
Without further ado…Straight From the Fans: April 2024!
Top 10 Best Fan Reviews Left in the Nugs App – April 2024
It’s been a while since the five-time Grammy-winning collective Snarky Puppy released some shows on nugs, so we wanted to highlight today’s new arrivals. Joining an extensive library of over 100 Snarky shows from 2015-2019, these ten archives were handpicked for stellar moments, unique lineups, and powerful solos. Get access to unlimited streaming of all these shows and the entire nugs catalog when you start a free trial today.
To help you get started, we’ve curated a playlist of ten unique tracks, choosing one from each of the new shows. From the Cardiff “What About Me?” and its layered texture builds to the space-age synth solo on the Philadelphia “Big Ugly,” new and diehard fans alike will find plenty to sink their teeth into.
Subscribers can download and stream the playlist here via the mobile app. Once saved to your playlists, you can stream in the desktop player too.
We’re excited to bring back the “Gratefully Deadicated” playlist, a regular compilation to showcase the continued impact and inspiration drawn from the Grateful Dead catalog. Focusing on the winter and spring of 2024, we’re featuring performances from Orebolo, Umphrey’s McGee, Dogs in a Pile, Gov’t Mule, and more as they celebrate the legacy of the legendary songbook.
Subscribers can stream this month’s playlist now, or sign up for a free trial to listen. The playlist is only accessible in the nugs mobile app, but you can save it to your library to listen on desktop. Explore the songs and the artists included below, and know that the music never stops!
Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Phish, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Strings, and more.
Nugs subscribers can visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.
Note: the Phish track is exclusively available in the LivePhish app.
Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Goose, Bruce Springsteen, Widespread Panic, and more.
Nugs subscribers can visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.
Sign up for a free trial now to hear this newly mastered show plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog. From White Stripes archivist/historian Ben Blackwell on this month’s ‘Third Man Thursday’ release:
The White Stripes 1999 Tour Archive
There are moments, ever so brief, that feel like an entire room has catalyzed and are all speaking the same language. Even if speaking vaguely or in code, everyone understands fully.
So while I cannot speak for the rest of the 100 or so folks that were at the Magic Stick on April 17th, 1999, I can speak to how *I* felt.
For establishing purposes, exactly 25 years ago, on April 17th, 1999 the White Stripes played in the middle of a bill with Gore Gore Girls opening and the Compulsive Gamblers headlining. I was sixteen years old.
Barely a month earlier, it appeared that the White Stripes were done. With their cessation being reported in the Detroit News, the fact that a DAILY newspaper was covering such underground countercultural gossip still feels beguiling. Yet in the span of a few weeks, the Stripes had played a triumphant non-farewell show (March 13th, 1999) and were most definitely soldiering on, while Jack White’s other current musical concern, the Go, had unceremoniously kicked him out.
I guess this was relatively big news in the small world of Detroit garage rock. In hindsight, it seems pretty insignificant. So when the Stripes roll into “Astro” at the tail end of their set and Jack substitutes in the names of his former bandmates in the Go “Bobby”, “Marc” and “John” as “do(es) the astro” the feeling in the air, to me, was “oh man, he’s giving it to ‘em.”
To follow it up with the ending verse impromptu singing “Maybe someone has an ego!”
and “Why don’t you do what you want to, girl?” (with what I would interpret as foreshadowing of future attack-like songs as “There’s No Home For You Here (Girl)” and “Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine”) and it all had the allure of an up-to-the-minute newscast, made up in real time, for the couple dozens friends and scenesters gathered there that evening, all of whom knew the score.
As the song concluded, you faintly hear a request for the Go song “Meet Me At The Movies” to which Jack replies on mic “Somebody wanna hear “Meet Me At The Movies?” It’s the wrong band!”
The Stripes performance, overall, is just so different from any single show they’d ever played before or would play after. First ever appearances of gems like covers of Iggy Pop’s “I’m Bored” and Earl King’s “Trick Bag” (done in the style of the Gories) alongside Jack and Meg’s first ever performance of “The Same Boy You’ve Always Known.” They also cover Brendan Benson’s “Crosseyed” for seemingly the only time ever with Brendan himself smack dab front and center watching the proceedings.
Interesting little moments abound…the show-opening “I’m Bored” is quickly scuttled as Meg’s bass drum pedal snaps. She coordinates a quick replacement with Deb Agolli (drummer for openers the Gore Gore Girls) that precipitates Jack’s solo take on “Trick Bag”
(For years my recall is that I was up there helping Meg attach the borrowed pedal to her kick drum. But just now, at this moment, I’m half-thinking that I watched it from the crowd. In my head, I see Deb, coincidentally wearing red and white, behind the drums with Meg. But I also see myself crouched down, futzing in the dark, helping Meg. The video of the show conveniently shows neither myself nor Deb onstage during any of this. There’s a possibility my memories are lies)
But once all is back up-to-speed, Jack just starts “I’m Bored” from the beginning.
There’s a simplicity to taking the song from the top, an innocence to it, a “we’re gonna do this right” stick-to-it-iveness that I tend to think most bands would not actually endeavor. Most bands would just move past it and try to pretend that they never even attempted the song in the first place, let alone start their set with it.
And that’s just one of many reasons why the White Stripes were objectively great from such an early point in their career.
Other treats include an early run of “The Big Three Killed My Baby” that does not start with the trilling three scratches of the guitar. Seemingly every version performed afterwards would start just like the album recording…with those ominous trills. Jack introduces Meg as his little sister. Jack also, for the first time we’ve documented, signed off the show with a “My sister thanks you and I thank you.” Little Easter eggs all of them.
And while there’s no real evidence here to point to proving so, we all know that this is the evening that Jack White would pay a couple hundred bucks to Compulsive Gambler’s Jack Yarber for his red Airline guitar that in short order would become an iconic piece of the White Stripes imagery.
My favorite moment of the entire show unfolds in the middle break of “Astro” where Jack drops a curveball…
What did the hen dog say to the snake? No more crawfish in this lake Just a hair, just a little bit, just a hair, just a little bit Well what did the woman who came to the side, one hand on her leg, one hand on her thigh Good lord, have mercy, good lord, have mercy
This is a slightly altered take on George Johnson’s version of “Jack The Rabbit” as featured in the 1978 John Lomax film The Land Where The Blues Began. Johnson was a gandy dancer, a now-obsolete job of manual railroad track maintenance. This is a work song, plain and simple, Johnson’s repeated lines of “just a hair, just a little bit” actually instructions to the rest of his crew in regards to which increment or degree they should be adjusting the track. It’s chilling, it’s got unforced attitude, it’s beautiful.
In sharing this clip with Jack this week, twenty-five years later, he said he had absolutely no recollection of what it was or where it even came from.
But it felt so familiar, both then and now. Like a nursery rhyme I’d heard my entire life. Like something EVERYONE had heard their entire life, certainly everyone in the room. Like it was meant to be there, that it had always been there, and would always be there, smack dab in the middle of “Astro.”
The point I’m trying to make is that for these fleeting moments on this night, the demarcation of stage and floor were largely irrelevant. What was happening wasn’t a band playing for a crowd. What was happening was a conversation, an education, a therapy, a laugh, a finger-pointing, all wrapped into one. And so much of it, hell, maybe all of it, happened just that once, seemingly to be experienced only by those in the room. Fleeting.
So should you give a shit that this is effectively a spruced-up audience recording? Not in the least. Just sit back and enjoy all the swirling different factors and reactors that melted together to create a one-of-a-kind evening a quarter of a century ago.
Stream this new show and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore The White Stripes catalog and start your free trial here.
Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Bruce Springsteen, Dogs in a Pile, Kitchen Dwellers, and more.
Nugs subscribers can visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.
Atlantic City Bruce Springsteen 3/28/24 San Francisco, CA
Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Bruce Springsteen, Umphrey’s McGee, Spafford, and more.
Nugs subscribers can visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.
Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth, Umphrey’s McGee, and more.
Nugs subscribers can visit their account page to check their eligibility for four months of SiriusXM All Access. Offer details apply. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.
Two exclusive archives from The White Stripes are now available for streaming in the nugs.net app, featuring two 2003 shows; Boston on April 20 and Berlin on May 19. Sign up for a free trial now to hear these new shows plus the entire Third Man Records archival catalog.
From long time White Stripes fan Mike on this month’s ‘Third Man Thursday’ releases:
They’re Gonna Talk About You Still
When Jack White appeared in the film It Might Get Loud, he chose two influences to share with the cameras: Son House, the blues singer and guitarist – whose birthday it is today, and Flat Duo Jets, the two-piece band fronted by Dexter Romweber – who passed away last month. In tribute to those artists and the lasting power of influence, here are the White Stripes performances from Boston, where the band performed a cover of Flat Duo Jets’ Don’t Blame Me, and Berlin, where they brought Son House’s Grinnin’ In Your Face to the masses. Two of the band’s most widely shared concerts, each originally captured off the radio and circulated by fans. Like the music of those key influences, these performances are both familiar and essential, re-shared here upgraded and unedited for the first time.
With only 4 weeks between them, the concerts from Boston and Berlin reveal just how quickly the band’s performances were developing. Boston is a spontaneous run-through, with the new songs rapidly settling into their proper live versions, pure risk-taking live on the air. Berlin pushes the set further, resulting in an explosive ninety-minute go, one of the longest broadcasts the band had ever done. As soon as these shows hit the airwaves, they were immediately shared by fans as must-hear recordings from the tour.
During an interview before the show in Boston, the band were asked whether maintaining simplicity was still a goal, with Jack confirming “I don’t really want to evolve or grow in the band at all. I don’t want that false pretense, or to try and second guess things. We like living in this box we’ve created very much, and we don’t want to change.” And yet, even with that commitment, the Boston concert would be held at the Orpheum, a venue twice the size of the ones played on previous tours, and the Berlin concert would get moved from the Casino to the larger Columbiahalle, one of the first times that had happened to the band. So, while they may have been able to keep some things the same, they couldn’t stop others from evolving around them.
The spirit of wanting to preserve things would get echoed in other interviews, when discussing the band’s influences: “It’s wonderful to have influences. It’s wonderful to join that tradition of songwriters and storytellers, and join that family…telling the same story your way.” One of those stories was also Jack’s favorite song, Grinning In Your Face, by the blues legend Son House. Even though the band had been performing the song at shows going back to 1999, the Berlin broadcast would be the first time that most fans had ever heard it – included here as part of Death Letter. Notable too, as the song was from a record that wouldn’t have existed if not for a group of young fans inspired by the out-of-print recordings of the bluesman, going on a road trip in 1964 with the hopes that they could track him down and convince him to make music again. The result of that effort was the record “Father of Folk Blues” which Jack would discover by hearing John the Revelator played over the PA before a Radiohead concert. Just as John the Revelator would get memorialized on the White Stripes debut album, and Death Letter on De Stijl, the performance of Grinning In Your Face on the Berlin broadcast would serve as a key reference point of the Stripes covering the song. The band’s day in Berlin would turn out to be especially productive in that regard, as the soundcheck would also see them record a cover of Soledad Brothers’ St Ides of March, which would be released later that year as the B-side to The Hardest Button To Button.
Jack had been introduced to Flat Duo Jet’s “Go Go Harlem Baby” around the time he was working at an upholstery shop. And while Son House’s music would serve as a perfect example of the band re-telling a story their way, when the Stripes covered the Duo Jets, they played it faithful – true to the source. Don’t Blame Me was itself a cover, a story that singer and guitarist Dexter Romweber had re-told his way, but when the Stripes played it, they did it like Dex did. And just like Grinnin’ In Your Face at Berlin, the performance of Don’t Blame Me at Boston was also the first time that most fans had ever heard that song. The occasion was all the more significant because Dex was on the bill that night, performing with his sister Sara as the Dexter Romweber Duo, making the Stripes’ cover of Don’t Blame Me the rare experience of being able to pay tribute to someone who influenced you, with them actually in the room. When later asked how he felt about the impact that Flat Duo Jets had on others, Dex was gracious: “There are musicians that have influenced me that came before me that people don’t necessarily know about. It’s all just a natural lineage of stuff handed down. I’m not lost on the fact that people influenced me either. So, if Jack got something out of those records or he saw something that was valuable to him, I thought that was a positive thing because I had done the same thing.” In 2011, Third Man Records would reissue “Go Go Harlem Baby” on vinyl after being long out-of-print, continuing to pay that influence forward.
Everything has a source. Just as the mighty Mississippi starts as a small lake in Minnesota, that too gets fed by the creeks and springs around it. You can never fully go upstream, just as you can’t predict where something will go once it’s released, or how it might influence others. Just as these shows were spread by fans, here’s a reminder to go check out Son House’s “Father of Folk Blues” and Flat Duo Jets’ “Go Go Harlem Baby”, music kept in the light by those who understood that when you discover something good – whether on an out-of-print record, a song overheard at a concert, or a band’s performance on a radio broadcast – the best thing you can do is to share it with others, and let that love keep shining on.
Originally broadcast on the radio, Boston would be the first time that many fans would get to hear the new songs from Elephant performed live. Even though parts of the band’s opening concert from London had been broadcast a few weeks earlier, the performance from Boston is the one that feels like the proper return to the stage, especially given how accessible the show would be to fans. The concert at the Orpheum was the band’s second show this Easter Sunday, as they had also performed a brief set earlier in the afternoon for a group of contest winners at the nearby Paradise. For as familiar as this show is, it’s amazing when you realize how many risks the band took on this night. After the opening trio of Black Math, Dead Leaves, and Let’s Shake Hands, the first surprise arrives during I Think I Smell A Rat, with a cover of Party of Special Things to Do by Captain Beefheart, a rarity released as a 7 inch a few years before, but only played live a handful of times. You can hear Jack call out for the bass drum pattern “boom, boom, boom, boom…” just before kicking off the verses. This spontaneity can also be heard in the version of You’re Pretty Good Looking, with Jack pausing after the first verse to shout “gimme a click, Meg!”, singing the rest of the lyrics in the swing style that he would use at other shows throughout the year. Even though it was still early in the tour, the new songs were also getting updated, which you can hear in the performance of The Hardest Button to Button, with the vocals having shifted away from the deadpan delivery heard on the album to an all-out scream. Death Letter features the quote from Motherless Children before abruptly closing, indicating that something must have happened with the guitar. Rather than attempt a restart, Jack moves to the keyboards and performs an impromptu cover of Red Bird, an on-the-fly debut of the Leadbelly song. The show gets to a truly unique moment with the debut of Don’t Blame Me, an homage to one of Jack’s key influences, Flat Duo Jets. A special occasion, given that Duo Jets’ singer and guitarist Dex Romweber was the opener on this night, performing as part of a new duo with his sister Sara. Just like the show with Loretta Lynn in New York the night before, Boston is one of the few times when the band would get to share a bill with one of their musical idols. A week later they would do it again, opening for the Stooges at Coachella. As they close the show, the band go out on a high note, leaving the audience and the listeners wanting more, with Jack holding back laughter as he leads the crowd to the final verse in Boll Weevil.
Just as the broadcast from Boston felt like the band’s official return to the stage, the way they sounded on the broadcast from Berlin was as if they’d suddenly hit their live peak. Having been moved from the Casino to the larger Columbiahalle due to demand, the band’s setlist is similarly expanded here, a masterful 30+ song display. Coming just weeks after the breakout shows in April and the exploratory performances in Scandinavia, Berlin takes the Elephant set and firmly baselines it into a 90 minute powerhouse. Like watching a racehorse lap effortlessly around the track, over and over, they just sound so healthy here. From the whammy-and-feedback opening in Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground to the final singalong in Boll Weevil, you get the full course – a virtual blueprint for the rest of the Elephant tour. The Hardest Button To Button gets a unique spot near the top of the set just after the openers, which extends the energy rush to great effect. Listen for the ad libbed line “Beating up Swanson and Damstra with a baseball bat!”, a funny reference to tourmates Whirlwind Heat during the marathon version of I Think I Smell A Rat, which also features When I Hear My Name, Take a Whiff On Me, and Mr Cellophane, now in its official live arrangement – complete with Jack letting the audience know when it’s time to adjust the rhythm of their clapping. After an excellent Hypnotize, Jack introduces the band to the audience with an appropriate “Hot and sweaty in Berlin!”. Death Letter follows and is just about perfect, complete with Jack yelling “Let’s go Meg!” which she responds to by joining him in a run that culminates with a fantastic burst on the kick drum. This sets up Grinnin’ In Your Face, one of the first times that listeners had ever heard the band perform the Son House song live. Again, just about perfect. There are performance highlights all over this show, including the adlib of “I can tell that we are going to be friends…Berlin, Berlin, Berlin” and the nod to Burt Bacharach and Marlene Dietrich before Look Me Over Closely. Even the out of tune guitar that pops up during the transition from Let’s Build A Home into Goin’ Back to Memphis still ends up resulting in a wonderful improvisation that they use to push through and close the main set. The encores play out like a continuous medley, including a complete version of Fell In Love With A Girl, the rare occurrence when they played the song in full. Having also used the soundcheck to record the future B-side cover of Soledad Brothers’ St Ides Of March, on this night they really could do no wrong. Do yourself a favor and fall in love with Berlin all over again, a mandatory performance from the Elephant tour.
Stream these three new shows and all other exclusive archive releases from Third Man Records with a 7-day free trial. Explore The White Stripes catalog and start your free trial here.