Jack and Meg White get lost in music in this concert footage documentary, shot during the Detroit duo's January 2004 concert at The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool. Complementing the band's stripped down bluesy sound, it's a straightforward outing that follows the band as they thrash their way through a 26 song set. There's no backstage access, no interviews, no glitz or glamour, just 80 minutes of Jack and his ex-wife/'sister' Meg doing what they do best.
The concert director Dick Carruthers is a veteran at filming live performances, having previously worked with Portishead, Led Zeppelin and The Who. He shoots in grainy colours, giving Under Blackpool Lights the feel of an illicit bootleg video, and it proves the perfect medium for such consummate no-nonsense musicians as the Stripes: their blend of blues and punk doesn't need much in the way of frills since it's the pared down chords that count.
"A THUNDER FLASH OF SEXED-UP ENERGY"
"I'm in the right place at the wrong time," quips Jack in a rare moment of conversation with the assembled fans. "That's how I feel every day," he adds, before launching into an exquisite cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene. Other songs are more familiar, spanning all three of the band's albums. There's a superb rendition of Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground and I Think I Smell A Rat (which still sounds like an escapee from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack), plus plenty of other instant classics, from Ball And Biscuit to Hotel Yorba and Hello Operator.
Bursting onto the stage in a thunder flash of sexed-up energy - Meg orgasmically pounding the drums, Jack striding around in too-tight red/black jeans - the Stripes delve into the throbbing heart of their guitar'n'drums sound. It's an exhilaratingly electric set that drives like a juggernaut towards the inevitable encore-ender: a dazzling rendition of the thrash rock classic Seven Nation Army.
The White Stripes: Under Blackpool Lights (2004)
