Despite Jack White’s celebrated solo debut, Blunderbuss, people were here to hear White Stripes songs, make no mistake. Between unmemorable stints with the Raconteurs and Dead Weather, a Jack White billing was the closest Austin could get to justifiably expecting “Hotel Yorba.” White still looks very rock & roll; stringy black hair streaking down a pale neck, suspenders and jeans binding a thick frame. His all-female band, the Peacocks, came gussied up in bluebell dresses and dusky tights. Together, they did just enough to keep the crowd appeased and the bookers off White’s back, dealing “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Steady as She Goes,” and “We’re Going to Be Friends.” Soccer stadium classic “Seven Nation Army” was garnished with pedal-steel luster, White keeping things off-kilter even at their most calculable. He’s 37; the classics are a decade removed; the tribute-act jeers are creeping in. Yet this year’s Blunderbuss goes far too deep for that, and when White launched into fiery duet “Love Interruption,” there weren’t many jokes to make. This wasn’t a past-prime rehashing. Jack White’s ACL headlining set was a testament to a man that doesn’t deserve to be counted out yet.
This article appears in October 19 • 2012.