The White Stripes released a professional audio recording of their final show on July 31, 2007, at Southaven, Mississippi Snowden Grove Amphitheater. The band’s setlist included many songs, including “Icky Thump,” “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Astro,” “Hotel Yorba” and “Ball and Biscuit.” The entire show is available for download here.
Jack White said that evening, “I can’t even tell you how much it means for me to be here tonight… so I’m not even gonna bother.” That was the same evening Meg White said to Ben Blackwell of Third Man Records, “‘I think this is the last White Stripes show.’ Confused, I (Blackwell) responded ‘Well, yeah, last show of this leg of the tour.’ She replied ‘No…I think this is the last White Stripes show ever’ and slowly walked away.”
Blackwell describes the evening, “Jack began the encore by himself, pouring every last drop of feeling and emotive vocal quiver into a solo offering of ‘300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues’ that was achingly bare. The raw force behind it feels beyond naked…as if Jack had pulled back his own skin to reveal his truest, innermost thoughts, particularly when he changed the lyrics on the fly and sang…’ See there’s three women in my mind that know they have the answer, but they’re not letting go… What else is new? I’m the only one that seems to care where I should go.'”
In the show, “Stop Breaking Down” was the opening song. Blackwell says, “The inspiration behind that first opening performance was the band headlining the Ottawa Bluesfest, being met with newspaper headlines that asked ‘Are the White Stripes bluesy enough to headline Bluesfest?’ It was believed Jack’s intention was to leave no doubt the band was well-within their powers conveying the blues to the masses. Jack White also performed another Robert Johnson song ‘Phonograph Blues’ to assuredly placate the ghosts of the Mississippi Delta.”
He describes, “The Blues is home. The blues provides comfort, the blues provides center, the blues provides foundation. It provides a manner to express one’s feelings, both a connection to the past and a path through the future.”
Upon the completion of the set, Jack White says, “I can’t believe how long it has taken us to get here. Thanks for waiting. Thanks for coming. Thanks for buying our records. Thanks for buying a ticket. We love you very much. Thank you. God bless you Son House. God bless you Robert Johnson. Thank you so much.”
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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