jack white; providence amphitheater bonner springs, ks

a no cell phone show per jack white. what will people do without their media managing crutch to notify the world that they were present during a life changing event?? answer, watch and enjoy as some of us did pre social media. if you were one of the many that did arrive at the gate with your device in hand the friendly staff would guide you to place your phone within a yondr pouch. it is a pouch that locks and needs a special unlock tool that only the staff had; looked to be a magnet that took a bounce on the pouch button to unlock. the yondr was sized well and fit into your pocket with the rest of your contents. also, if you really, really, really did need to acceas your phone during the show, there were designated areas away from the performer you could quell your anxiety of being without your best nonhuman friend. personally, I had to enter with my phone because of digital tickets. I found that entering, holding the pouch in my pocket for a couple hours and exiting to be a non-issue. it was nice to get back to the basics of watching a live event and interacting with people, without the contending devices.

now, music...

disclaimer, I am not a die hard fan or even a follower of jack white and his music. seeing him live, either solo or in band form, has been on my list though as he is a performer that transcends genres of music brilliantly. whether it be through alternative, blues, noise rock or country, his sound is unmistakable and the guitar work is that of legends.

our seats were in the back corner of the venue, just below the closed off grass pavilon. I did make a remark to my accompanying party that it had been sometime since I sat so far away from a performer and this perspective wold be intersting for sound and viewing of the stage movement. it was a non-issue. sound was great and it was interesting to see how the crowd reacted to each song as they played out. jack and his backing band performed 26 songs reaching his time with the white stripes to recent hits; more on the side of music from his bands and covers. jack is a showman. even with the disadvantage of stage proximity, you could see him move freely and really put on a great show musically and showmanly for the audience. when I hear my name, a tour debut and first live play since 2012, and we’re going to be friends were 2 songs that played out well and were memorable. we’re going to be friends because it cut the show up from electric to acoustic very well and hear my name, because it was unexpected. overall, the song choices were great and the flow between was executed strategically well.

if coming to your town on tour, I would recommend paying the $20 admission to see this great guitar hero live. nice work and pleasing visually, aesthetically and audibly.

mattiel was the opener. didn‘t see much of them, but they seemed a good match for the headliner.

view the entire set list here. https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jack-white/2018/providence-medical-center-amphitheater-bonner-springs-ks-2bec1cce.html