Ben Blackwell shares some quick, digestible tidbits about the White Stripes: Live in Detroit vault package:

- Meg was suffering from mononucleosis at the time of the performance at the Magic Bag in 1999 (Jack even mentions this at the end of the performance)

- The Magic Stick made openers Whirlwind Heat take the stage incredibly early. Barely anyone was there to see them. So after the White Stripes were done playing, Jack directed the Whirlwind boys to come back on stage and play another mini-set

- The Gold Dollar show was quite possibly the most-packed show in that venue’s history. The Rock*a*Teens opened the show because they had booked the club prior to the White Stripes inquiring about that date. Gold Dollar owner Neil Yee, a man of principals, would not cancel the Rock*a*Teens booking, regardless of how big the Stripes’ show was guaranteed to be. So a compromise was struck that the Rock*a*Teens would open the show and everyone was happy.

- I’m fairly certain that Terry Cox live mixed both the Magic Bag and Magic Stick shows. The Gold Dollar show was recorded to multi-track by Neil Yee (he was the soundman too!) and mixed by TMR confidant Joshua V. Smith. I was once told that Cox drummed for the metal band Ratt at some point in their storied career, but I’m not entirely sure that’s true.

- The Magic Bag and Gold Dollar both had an in-house tape decks that accommodated the recordings. I personally lugged a thick, high-quality 1970’s tape deck to the Magic Stick show to record the show.

- The back cover photo of the Greenhornes single for Italy Records single was shot the day after their gig opening for the White Stripes at the Magic Bag

- At the Magic Stick Jack set up an easel at the front of the stage with placards displaying each band’s name (Whirlwind Heat, the Greenhornes, the White Stripes) that he would switch out as each band took the stage

- I listened to the Magic Bag show in my car forever. I love that show so much…the piano just makes the whole performance take on a profile that felt unlike any other show before or after. There was definitely a feeling of “We’ll never get to use a piano on stage again, let’s try and make it count.” This particular version of “Love Sick” is still my favorite of the countless times that Jack and Meg covered the song.

- In the rehearsals leading up to the Magic Bag, Jack and Meg had rehearsed a cover of the Breeders’ “Do You Love Me Now?” and I never was sure why it wasn’t performed that night.

- See below for a scan of the Magic Bag setlist as written by Jack. Note that the songs performed that night don’t entirely stick to this list. By summer of 2000 the band had stopped using setlists. For the Gold Dollar performance, I remember Jack had a copy of the “White Blood Cells” LP on stage to refer to for song running order.

- The White Stripes long-time tour manager John Baker arrived in Detroit (traveling from Auckland, New Zealand) late on June 7th, 2001. John was under the impression that the White Stripes were a MUCH bigger deal than they were at the time. He jumped in a cab at the airport and told the driver to take him to the White Stripes show. The driver had no idea what he was talking about. John then said to take him to the Gold Dollar, to which the driver also knew nothing about. John couldn’t believe that this band, on the cusp of three sold out performances in the city of Detroit, was unknown to this cab driver.

To me, the White Stripes were always their most intriguing when performing in Detroit. There was always an extra push, one more rehearsal, one more trip putting up flyers, the extra effort to lock in opening acts that people would actually want to see. These three performances are shining examples of how great the band could be on their home turf. The Magic Bag…what a full range of emotions, the importance and severity of that grand piano ringing out through that theater. The Magic Stick presented the band as a unit smarter from their first extended bout of touring…exploring new songs and owning the stage in a previously unseen way. And by performing all of “White Blood Cells” in it’s entirety, in order, at the Gold Dollar can best be summed up by this bit of stage banter uttered sheepishly by Jack before going into “This Protector"

“We played the first time here, we played three songs here, it was three years ago and there was only ten people in the room and now…I guess it’s different."

SIGN UP FOR VAULT #34 HERE! Deadline is October 31st at midnight CST