Peppermint Candy

Back in January, I read in the entertainment section of the Daily Yomiuri, an announcement that the White Stripes were to perform in Osaka! I was jacked. I immediately picked up my mobile and sent a text to the wifey, asking her to call Zepp Osaka, the venue hosting the show. When she called, they informed her that the show had been postponed and that a reschedule had not yet been arranged. “Bummer,” I thought but, eventually, expected another date would be set and it was.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting at my desk at school, flipping through the newspaper and learned they rescheduled the show for the 10th of March, last Thursday. Yes! Tsugumi called Zepp again and they told her how to get hold of a pair of tickets. The process was relatively easy- only because we live near a Lawson convenience store- they’re everywhere around where we live. All we had to do was go to an automated machine, not unlike an ATM, punch in a code, and make our selection. It then spit out a slip of paper to be presented to the cashier, who printed and issued us the tickets. Not at all as easy as being able to buy online- Japan hasn’t really caught on to that yet, probably because credit cards are not nearly as common as they are in the States.

The show nearly sold out by the time we secured our spot. Neither of us had been to Zepp and didn’t have a clue what the format would be like. We were able to select our choice, general or reserved, both at for same cost- a measly $65! Okay, yes, crazy price but everything costs double in this country. The main reason we wanted to see the White Stripes here is the rep Japan rock concert scenes have: great acoustics and mellow crowds, (we’re not into the mosh thing- gave that up in high school).

The doors were scheduled to open at 6pm and we arrived about 5:15. It was freezing outside and not knowing what sort of accommodations to expect, we dressed light. There were a few vendors selling overpriced French fries and takoyaki, octopus balls- pass. They had a nice lounge but the smoke was so thick it just about made our eyes water. We opted to wonder over to a wine museum to use the washrooms. I bought a bottle of water from a vending machine, knowing they would be way over priced once we got inside the concert house.

We made our way back to the entry of Zepp, expecting a line; nope. A guy yelling through a loudspeaker was calling out ticket sections, one at a time. I didn’t understand the point of not allowing a line to form but, whatever- we were just happy it didn’t rain. Tsugumi told me that they were calling something out about having an extra $5 ready. “For what?” I asked. Turns out, they charge a beverage fee at the door. I told the woman at the entrance, I didn’t need one but she said it didn’t matter. Lame. I gave her the five spot and she handed me a token I used to exchange for another bottle of $1 bottle of water, though this one was marked up 500%. (Needless to mention my irritation, though not the fault of the band.) As if $65 a ticket wasn’t enough!

We went upstairs to the reserved section and were elated at seeing a non-smoking sign on the door. About the only non-smoking place in Kansai one can find is Starbucks, so I was really relieved. Our seats were just right of center and only three rows back. The floor was about the size of an infield, the stage being less than fifty yards in front of us. We couldn’t have asked for better seats! I was expecting a much larger space but this one was really small; the reserve section was only about seven rows deep and fifty across. Even better, seats on either side of us remained vacant for the whole show.

The set display was decked in back, red, and white designs, with a white, pulsating apple in the center- not unlike what is featured on the band’s website.
There were three or four vintage guitars, including 1964 JB Hutto Montgomery Airlines, a Harmony Rocket, a 1970's Crestwood Astral II, and a mandolin resembling something Whitey might play on Leave it to Beaver. Also present were a grand piano, some kind of keyboard that I don’t recall ever seeing before, and a marimba. There was the standard drum set along with two large timpani. Having never seen them live before, I wondered how they would pull it off, being a duo with no stand-ins.

They started the set with the hard edged When I Hear My Name, wasting no time in getting the audience moving. Sure enough, following his opening riffs, Jack quickly sat down, turned down the dial on his '64 JB Hutto to zero, and began playing the piano. It was excellent. Throughout the show, he was running between the piano, key board and drum kit with impressive precision. From time-to-time, men dresses in black vintage suits and derby hats, looking like twin Chaplins or low-ranking bootleggers working for Al Capone, jumped onto stage to untangle wires or replace a toppled mic stand. The show was a testimony that rock still is far from disappearing from the scene- if anything, indy bands like the White Stripes and the Black Keys (another two-person act) have demonstrated how strong back to basic rock and roll still is.

Besides the actual performance, I was also impressed by their set list, which included a wide selection of tracks from all five albums, unlike a lot of groups who stick only to the most requested or most recent songs. The crowd in the reserved section was a little too reserved for me; no one stood up and nobody really applauded until the end- not even during the encore, besides the two of us, that is. The floor was more wild- probably due to the high number of drunken gaijin in the crowd. I would have liked to have jumped around a little bit but not for the entire show. Watching salary men, dressed in suits and ties, packing briefcases, and apparent middle aged housewives showing up and taking their seats- many of whom came solo, made for interesting people watching. That’s one thing that’s pretty cool here; it’s not uncommon to see people in their 60s and 70s standing around watching a punk show at a park, whereas back home, it’s a more than rare sight- unless one takes into consideration the Stones.

After the final track, they expressed their thanks and said it was the last show of the tour. We were really happy to have made it. I don’t know when I’ll ever have the opportunity to see Meg and Jack White in this kind of setting again but if I do, I’ll certainly take it.