White Stripes aim to paint town red in Las Vegas debut

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 | 9:24 a.m.

The White Stripes are coming, and a Seven Nation Army couldn't hold Las Vegas back.

Riding the success of their fourth album, "Elephant," the Detroit bluesy garage-rock duo makes their Southern Nevada debut at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

With the Stripes' leadoff single, "Seven Nation Army," a fixture on video music television and modern rock radio, the show was a quick sellout, with tickets gobbled up within about a week of the on-sale date last month.

The red-and-white-clad pair -- guitarist/vocalist Jack White and drummer Meg White -- were derailed in July when Jack White broke his left index finger in three places in an automobile accident in Detroit.

"Air bag, the air near my fingers, devil in my left hand, doctors say no way, lots of pain. Made it through a year of rock & roll death, got off with just a warning," Jack White wrote cryptically on his band's official website, www.whitestripes.com. The site later broadcast footage of White's finger surgery.

White's injury prompted the White Stripes to cancel their summer tour, though they were able to reschedule all but two of the missed shows. The band returned to the stage Saturday in Berkeley, Calif., playing to a crowd of around 8,500.

Publicly, the two Stripes claim to be brother and sister. But a 2001 New York Times article revealed them instead to be a divorced couple who were married from 1996 until 2000.

Two indie-rock bands, Whirlwind Heat and the Soledad Brothers, open Saturday's concert. The White Stripes are slated to go on at midnight.

Who: The White Stripes.

Where: The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.

When: 9 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: Sold out.

Opening acts: Whirlwind Heat, Soledad Brothers.

Personnel: Jack White (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Meg White (drums, vocals).

Latest release: "Elephant" (V2 Records).

Album feedback: "The White Stripes made 'Elephant' ... in just two weeks last year, at a London studio outfitted with an eight-track tape machine and recording gear that predates the Beatles. But the Detroit duo walked out with a work of pulverizing perfection. It will be one of the best things you hear all year." (Rolling Stone, 5 stars); "Crucially, the White Stripes know the difference between fame and success ... they've succeeded at mixing blues, punk and garage rock in an electrifying and new way. On these terms, 'Elephant' is a phenomenal success." (All Music Guide, 4 1/2 stars).

Essential releases: "The White Stripes" (1999); "Elephant" (2003).

What to expect: Judging from Saturday's Bay Area show, the Stripes are playing songs from all four studio albums, along with several covers, including Bob Dylan's "Isis." The pair opted against such well-known tracks as "Fell in Love With a Girl" and "Hotel Yorba," instead reaching back for some deep cuts off their first two discs.

Recent set list: Greek Theatre, Berkeley, Calif., Saturday: "The Big Three Killed My Baby," "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "When I Hear My Name," "Death Letter," "Black Math," "Apple Blossom," "You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)," "In the Cold, Cold, Night," "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," "Cannon," "Ball and Biscuit," "The Hardest Button to Button," "We're Going to Be Friends," "Isis," "Let's Shake Hands" / "Man" / "Pick a Bale of Cotton." Encore: "Seven Nation Army," "Little Room," "The Union Forever," "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise," "The Boll Weevil Song." (from www.nme.com).

Tour feedback: "(Jack) White's guitar playing was slightly affected by his recovering finger, which still cannot bend fully. Nevertheless, the duo put on their customary exhilarating show." (www.nme.com); "Seldom looking up from beneath their long black hair, the duo spat out the brash guitar rawk and primitive drums with their usual pleasant indifference, as if they were still practising (sic) in their basement." (Vancouver Sun).

Says Jack White: "I didn't get into (the blues) deep until around 18. I dabbled in things like Howlin' Wolf, Cream and Led Zeppelin, but when I heard Son House and Robert Johnson it blew my mind. It was something I'd been missing my whole life. That music made me discard everything else and just get down to the soul and honesty of the blues." (Rolling Stone, April).