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...But Your Back Is So Broken:
The Whites Stripes, Whirlwind Heat, and The Hiss
Stone Mountain Park - Atlanta, GA. 06/20/03
by Nicole M.
First, I apologize that I am not going to be able to give a proper review, but as you will see below, the show made it a bit difficult to do so. Instead, I will try to encapsulate my impressions here. Forgive me.
I suppose that I should have known by afternoon when things were just not going as planned that perhaps the night might not turn out as well as Id hoped. Still, I tried to keep it all together and get through it. I was running later than I had anticipated getting to the park and that bit of stress was magnified when, once in the park, I found myself lost for almost an hour. I just kept circling the park following these "Use Right Lane for 99X The Rock" signs, desperately trying to remember where I had seen Radiohead about two years ago (that show was at the same venue, but it is important to note to people that do not live here, The Meadow at Stone Mountain is a highly uncommon music venue). After nearing tears and threatening that I was about to leave the park and just go home, I found a parking attendant and got directions. Thankfully, they got me there!
By then it was about 4:00 and time to tuck in for the long night ahead. I made my way to where a small crowd was gathering at the entrances of the gates to get a good space. Before though, within five minutes of walking in, the couple next to me said, There he is, look! and I looked down the road and saw Jack on the scaffold bridge connecting the stage and the tour buses. I made my way down the hill, hopeful to perhaps meet him, but he simply waved at us and made his way into the bus. Oh well.
I stood near a group of fans for quite some time at that point, finding myself, as usual, terrified to speak to anyone. I always hate that, but I just totally clam up in front of people. I could only imagine they all thought I was some odd, aloof girl in the distance. I even felt a bit overdressed at first. Most people seemed to be wearing very casual clothing, whereas I was wearing some black platforms, black cord flares, and a black polo shirt, with a red and black tie. I suppose I wanted to look like a Candy Cane Child (which somehow sounds funny to say as I am older than both Meg and Jack), but not too over-the-top, you know?
Anyway, they let us in around 6:00 and I thankfully (or so I thought at the time) secured a spot somewhat near the middle in the second "row." Luckily, once in place, a nice couple behind me saved my spot for me while I finally had a chance to grab a drink. In the humid stickiness of the Georgia heat, I was getting quite dehydrated and faint. I am glad they did so as I was worried with being alone, I would lose my spot with no one there to switch off with. It took me a few moments to get up the nerve to speak with them, but was well worth it.
Sometime around 7:00, the first opening band began their set. They were called The Hiss and were actually rather good. They seemed to be a bit of a mix of Britpop a la The Stone Roses and perhaps 70s-era Stones. I think they have some potential, especially as they have either just gotten signed in England or are in the process of doing so. The crowd, as I had predicted, began their tossing of empty bottles onto the stage, though. It was an action which a few years earlier at an earlier version of the 99X festival caused The Doves to angrily walk off stage. I hoped above hope that the same fate would not befall The Stripes that night. The lead guitarist actually seemed to get rather riled up from the heckling and, by many accounts, ended up in a fight in the audience with his antagonist after the show (I, myself, only heard the cheering and people talking about it, so I cant confirm).
After the set for the Hiss and the during set-up for Whirlwind Heat, we were graced with the greatness of Brian Enos Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy album over the loud speakers. Other than being in my top ten albums of all time, it certainly was quite a refreshing change from the loop of music 99X had played all day which mostly consisted of tired, mainstream alterna-rock. Points for whomever chose that one, points indeed.
I wasnt entirely sure what to expect when Whirlwind Heat graced the stage sometime around 8:00. There had been a lot of talk about them in White Stripes circles some good things, some bad things, but always passionate. I was interested in the fact that the band seemed to have such a strong effect on people, poising them against each other on two ends of a spectrum of love and hate. When they began to play, I immediately recognized this tension. I could see how they could be a strong pill to swallow for some, dissonance not always palatable for everyones ears, but for myself, a person who has always had quite the hard-on for experimental, avant-garde artistry, they were right up my alley.
First, the energy of the band was amazing, the jerky beats and jams were reminiscent of old favorites of mine such as The Melvins, a bit of Suicide, a touch of Throbbing Gristle and Brainiac, and even equal parts of my beloved Sonic Youth (hence their name). You really couldnt help but love singer David Swanson dancing about like a mad young Mick Jagger. He was sex and he knew it. The music, the vibe, everything was just perfect. They were an utterly amazing performance and I am glad the crowd wasnt too harsh to them considering (especially since word on the street is that if you dont give The Heat the love, ole Jacky White pairs down the Stripes set).
It seemed forever for The Stripes to come on after Whirlwind Heat left the stage. It was interesting to note, though, that all of the crew for the Stripes were dressed in black suits, black shirts with red ties, and black derbies like Jack is known for. It was very quaint and oozed with coolness. Anyway, amazingly by then, Id actually been able to strike up some conversation with some fans around me (though honestly with my memory like it is, Ive forgotten all of their names by now.) It was really good to be around some Stripes fans, especially many of who had traveled from out of state to see the show. I was beginning to think my horoscope for the day might have been on target:
You tend to think of yourself as kind of lone warrior, Nicole. But today your efforts over the last twenty days have paid off. You have found your place in a group of people; you may even call it a family. You now have a place to come home to, whether it's to celebrate your victories or to lick your wounds. If you could just open up to other people, you'll soon find that have more than one safe-haven.
It was like a family, a big White Stripes family, too bad the party was about to be crashed by far too many drunken idiots. Yes, the crowd was getting raucous, almost beginning take on a life of its own writhing in the heat of the summer evening. There was the initial push that was beginning to make itself known to us at the front, a warning of what was soon to come. Finally close to 10:00 the Stripes took to the stage. Everything seemed to be going great as they launched into "Black Math", but within moments Jacks guitar went out. It was an awkward moment, but the crowd cheered him on as he and his guitar tech got it back up and running.
We belted out the words to "Black Math" and then things all got a bit fuzzy. My memory of the show gets a bit disjointed at that point as the crowd finally became this unstoppable, ferocious mass pushing towards the stage. I could barely even concentrate on the show itself because the crowd had quickly become such a fierce animal. I mean, I have been to a lot of punk shows and I have been in some dead awful crowds, but I think this one tops it probably due to the large volume of it (it was an at capacity crowd - "sold-out" I believe around 30,000 people). My impressions of the show were soon reduced to:
* a new song begins.
* the crowd lurches forwards, crushing everyone (including myself) upfront resulting in groans and screams of pain
* having to constantly look behind you to not get kicked in the head again by a crowdsurfer
*another song begins
*"*phew*", methinks, "its a slow one [insert "Jolene"], perhaps the crowd will calm a bit."
*crowd instead gets rowdier, crushing people up front more.
*spending almost the entire time thinking: "Oh God, please, when will this end? am I going to survive this without going to the hospital?"
I found myself almost desperately waiting for Jack to say something to the crowd about the crowd, to be our hero of the evening. Lots of bands are concerned about the welfare of their fans and when they see the audience getting pretty rough, they say something to try and stop it (not that it always works, but the crowd will general take a threat better from the band they came to see than a security officer). He could have said for everyone to step back, but really, he barely said anything at all. I mean, I am not trying to imply that he doesn't care, but I just wish he would have said more to make at least myself feel that I was really a part of something with the band instead of just the monster crowd. I know he is not a social animal, but in the situation, I felt a bit let down.
Anyway, the show ended and I actually found myself relieved at their exit from the stage, a feeling that added to my rising melancholy mood. I was bruised and battered physically and even somewhat emotionally. I felt my only reprieve was to try and meet the band after the show, to remind myself why I loved them so much. If I could not enjoy the music as I would have wanted, I could have at least enjoyed their presence. I attempted to wait near the buses after the show with a few of my new compatriots, but it was not to be. The place was crawling with police and they were vehemently clearing the area. I wished for a moment they were a much smaller band, that theyd played in no-name venue to a teeny-tiny audience who didnt even know who they were. For a moment I found myself angry at their success, but it was all fleeting. It was all just emotion filling me from the disappointment of the show.
I remember sitting in the car on the way home, trapped in some of the most horrendous traffic. I desperately played their music in the car, trying to remember what songs they played. It was like it had all been some dream, all surreal, or Id been knocked unconscious to be plagued with no memory of the event. It was strange, I almost wanted to cry. My Red and White-striped world had taken on a hue of grey. I grabbed a bite to eat yet hardly even finished, the food tasting bland and my mind still distracted by my thoughts of the evening, and made my way home and into bed.
I wanted to give it a day to write this review. Give me some distance from the whole experience, some time to lick my wounds. I realize now that I cannot be angry. Sometimes there is magic when all of the elements of something sync together and its truly beautiful. This, sadly, was not the case with last night. The music was brilliant (what I could manage to concentrate on), the performance was good (just as powerful and charismatic as I would have imagined), but all the pieces just didnt come together, the crowd seemed to mainly be there for the fact that the show was free and not for the passion for The Stripes. The few of us that were there for love, mostly left in anger. Still, I think about it like perhaps a first date that went a bit awry the restaurant was good, the background music was just right, but there was a fly in my soup. Therefore, I am certainly not ruling out another date, I just might not order that soup again.
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For the record, here is a bit of a set-list I culled from some other peoples posts. I believe it is complete:
Black Math
Jolene
You're Pretty Good Looking
Death Letter
Lord, Send Me An Angel
Screwdriver
Let's Shake Hands
Astro
Jack The Ripper
Apple Blossom
Hello Operator
Bollweevil
Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground
Hotel Yorba
Seven Nation Army
Fell in Love with a Girl
Were Going to Be Friends
Ball and Biscutt
In the Cold Cold Night
The Hardest Button to Button
I Just Dont Know What to do With Myself
The Same Boy You've Always Known
I Think I Smell a Rat (interspersed with a bit of Take a Whiff Of Me in the middle)
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