More is more: Jack White live in Birmingham

If you’re Jack White and playing a show in a small market a month before your debut solo album is released, here’s how you avoid impatient shouts from the audience to, “Play some White Stripes”: Open with one of the Stripes’ biggest hits, 2001's “Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground.”

And, with the help of a crackling four-piece band, make the song sound wider, deeper and, yes, better than any White Stripes version.

White’s upcoming LP “Blunderbuss” isn’t due until April 24, but the tour preceding it is the fullest realization of his talents yet. It’s the first time he has a proper ensemble at his disposal – and doesn’t have to share the wheel (as in The Raconteurs) or differ to another singer almost entirely (as in Dead Weather).

Hell, White’s fans are undoubtedly relieved he’s a frontman again rather than playing the triangle or running the lights or something for yet another side-project.

Of course, Jack is still going to be Jack.

For White’s March 12 performance at Birmingham, Ala.’s WorkPlay Soundstage, he used a completely different band – all dudes - than the one he played Chattanooga with – all female - two nights before. He also alternated between these combos on his March 3 “Saturday Night Live” appearance.

Before White took the stage, AC/DC, Howlin' Wolf and Johnny Cash tracks blared over the P.A.

After “Dead Leaves,” White, who soon shed his blue Western shirt to reveal a plain black T, dug into “Sixteen Saltines.” The “Blunderbuss” cut evokes early White Stripes: uppercut garage-blues guitar and abstract-yet-direct songwriting.

But with an entire band accompanying him instead of just a drummer, White didn’t have to channel most of his energy into making the performance sonically big enough to sound complete live.

Thus, his guitar playing and singing was more focused and sophisticated. This was true in the acoustic- and Telecaster-powered “Blunderbuss” tunes and dynamic Stripes interpretations, including “Hello, Operator,” “Ball and Biscuit,” “We’re Going To Be Friends” and “Seven Nation Army,” which benefited from curvy pedal steel guitar. A reading of “I Cut Like A Buffalo” exchanged the Dead Weather studio track's dub leanings for bayonet slashes.

Signs throughout the venue emphasized cellphone photos/video and audio recording were strictly prohibited and a zero-tolerance policy would be in effect, but photos from the show, including the one illustrating this story, were available as free downloads at www.jackwhiteiii.com. A be-suited MC explained this was to prevent scraggly YouTube clips from being fans first taste of "Blunderbuss."

White definitely made it a point to physically and musically engage each member of his dapper backing band - which included drums, upright bass, keys and the aforementioned pedal steel - throughout the gig. This came across naturally and smoothly, yet left no guess as to who the star was, underneath Soundstage's glittering chandelier and tall black walls.

After finishing his encore with a sing-along of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene,” White waved and disappeared through ice-blue stage lights into the night. But his performance made it feel like he’d finally arrived. Again.

The 300-Word Review: Alabama Shakes 'Be Mine'/'You Ain't Alone'

Finally, a “blog band” that delivers on what we read with what is real.

But then, the Alabama Shakes got Internet-famous due to incendiary live performances of their ’60s-style rock ‘n’ soul – not ironic haircuts or studio-Svengali dazzle.

So it’s logical the Shakes’ first vinyl release, the 7-inch single “Be Mine,” is a live cut. Jack White’s Third Man Records released the track, taped at the label’s Nashville facility, on Feb. 14.

After modest applause, “Be Mine” begins with mid-tempo guitar filigree. And then that voice drops in. Brittany Howard might be the most compelling blues-based singer to emerge since White and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach made the Mississippi Delta cool again at the turn of the century.

On “Be Mine,” Howard shifts naturally from butterfly to bulldog and back. Her performance is so cathartic it’s clear she sings not because she can, but because she has to.

And while Howard is the magic, the Shakes do have chemistry. A few Jimmy Page riffs in “Be Mine” hint guitarist Heath Fogg has more to unfurl. Bassist Zach Cockrell and drummer Steve Johnson know when to keep a pocket firm and went to let it flex, and whoever decided to add Ben Tanner’s vintage keyboards to the band deserves a raise.

Lyrically, “Be Mine,” is sturdy. But if Howard weren’t singing them, with her tornadic tone and conviction, these words wouldn’t blow you away. Auerbach is often similar in this regard. Still, give me honest and soulful over pretentious and wimpy. (The B-side to “Be Mine,” “You Ain’t Alone,” is well-executed Stax balladry.)

“Be Mine” builds to double-time crescendo, with Howard exalting titular couplets as a funnel cloud of cymbals encircles her. And when the in-studio crowd applauds this time, it’s with a lot more oomph.

Notes from the plastic neon safari: 2012 Grammys commentary

The most alluring aspect of Grammy telecasts is getting to see all those image-first artists - who are more akin to a highly-processed consumer good, such as AXE body spray or Doritos, than to John Lennon - in a "live" context.

Yes, I know legit artists like Radiohead, Black Keys or whoever also surface at the Grammys. This year it's the British songbird Adele and the American radio-rock band Foo Fighters. But I'm already familiar with their music. Because it doesn't make my ears want to throw up.

The Grammys are the only time I'll be exposed to the music of Nicki Minaj. And Katy Perry and Chris Brown. It's a bit like going on a wildlife-watching safari...if the jungle were filled with plastic neon animals that occasionally lip-synch.

Here are notes from this year's safari:

8:05 p.m.

Bruce Springsteen sounded good. It's time for him to stop wearing earrings, though.

8:08 p.m.

Judging from the audience-panning shot during Grammy host LL Cool J's prayer for Whitney Houston, who died last night, Los Angeles may face a fake eyelash shortage tomorrow.

8:11 p.m.

Nice working in an "Around the Way Girl" mention there, LL.

8:13 p.m.

Apparently, Bruno Mars broke into Sha Na Na's old stage-clothes wardrobe earlier today.

8:14 p.m.

Those are respectable James Brown dance moves, though.

8:16 p.m.

Wonder if Bruno Mars traded Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland a gram of blow for that megaphone he just used?

8:18 p.m.

By “Chris Brown,” I'm guessing they're not referring to that guy who used to play third base for the Giants in the '80s.

8:19 p.m.

Whoops. Forgot the baseball Chris Brown is dead.

8:22 p.m.

I will run around the block naked if Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys bust out Etta James' cover of "Welcome to the Jungle" during this Etta tribute medley.

8:25 p.m.

So far, Lil Wayne's Flavor Flav Halloween costume is the night’s best tribute thus far.

8:29 p.m.

Chris Brown is obviously a huge Michael Jackson fan. Maybe he should cover "Beat It"...or maybe not.

8:33 p.m.

Wow. That Chris Brown performance looked like a dance recital you’d see held at a suburban shopping mall food court.

8:36 p.m.

Bet you Fergie can beat Mark Anthony at basketball.

8:38 p.m.

Never thought I’d ever be sexually aroused by the site of Reba McIntire.

8:40 p.m.

Do you think Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson consumed breath mints before this performance? They're singing pretty close to each other’s faces.

8:45 p.m.

It appears Elton John is the new spokesperson for Burger King. No, it's Pepsi. (Which is pretty much the same thing as being a Burger King spokesperson.)

8:47 p.m.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, The Official Token Rock Band For Every Awards Show...The Foo Fighters. (And I like the Foos.)

8:48 p.m.

Seriously, does the Grammys have contact info for any other rock bands’ booking agents?

8:49 p.m.

Slayer T-shirt alert! Well played, Dave Grohl.

8:51 p.m.

Token Rock Band snark aside, The Foos sound great. This is the best performance thus far tonight.

8:53 p.m.

Can't remember the last time I've seen an inverted pentagram symbol on the Grammys.

8:58 p.m.

Will be interesting to see what new annoying moves Coldplay frontman Chris Martin unveils tonight.

9:00 p.m.

Is there a flash mob going on right now in the middle of Rihanna's performance?

9:01 p.m.

Oh yes, here come the annoying Chris Martin stage moves...

9:03 p.m.

Pretty disappointed Chris Martin neglected to bring that silly spray-painted upright piano of his.

9:03 p.m.

Oh snap, he did bring his silly spray-painted upright piano!

9:04 p.m.

This guy gets to have sex with Gwyneth Paltrow. The universe definitely has a sense of humor.

9:07 p.m.

I couldn't name a musician in Coldplay that is not Chris Martin, even if I had a large caliber shotgun pointed at my head.

9:14 p.m.

Fifty percent percent sure whichever of those two New York Giants players onstage is wearing sunglasses is stoned right now.

9:15 p.m.

Do you think the Grammys asked Dave Grohl to don a jacket to cover up that Satanic pentagram on his Slayer T-shirt?

9:16 p.m.

Awesome acceptance speech from Dave Grohl. Having a beer with him probably would not suck.

9:17 p.m.

If you had to have a beer with either Chris Martin or Adam Levine, which would you pick? I'd have to go with Levine.

9:20 p.m.

Maroon 5's cover of this Beach Boys song reminds me of those hostage video clips that terrorists release to let authorities know the hostages are still alive.

9:23 p.m.

Brian Wilson sounds pretty good tonight, but, man, he always looks so uncomfortable onstage. The aforementioned hostage vibe has permeated this entire Beach Boys segment. Who is holding all these pop bands against their will?

9:25 p.m.

The camera just cut to an audience shot of John Legend grooving to the Beach Boys performance. This is probably the first time ever the Beach Boys have caused a black dude to dance.

9:29 p.m.

Expect lots of pointing-at-the-crowd and an agape mouth from Paul McCartney during his upcoming performance.

9:31 p.m.

LL Cool J seems to be sticking with just one hat for the entire telecast. Pretty shocking.

9:33 p.m.

Joe Walsh is playing guitar with McCartney. They better do "Rocky Mountain Way" or "Funk #49."

9:36 p.m.

Macca breaks out some finger pointing and his mouth is totally agape. Told you!

9:39 p.m.

Vegas odds-makers probably weren't taking bets that this year’s Grammys would include both a Gil Scott-Heron shout-out AND a Slayer T-shirt.

9:40 p.m.

Hey dude in that folk duo Civil Wars: Jack White called. He wants his "Icky Thump" look back.

9:41 p.m.

Hmmm. Taylor Swift seems to have a gotten a "serious artist haircut" earlier today.

9:43 p.m.

Boy, they sure have Taylor Swift's banjo up high in the mix. Ahem.

9:53 p.m.

For time efficiency's sake, they may want to move Adele's chair onto the stage.

9:57 p.m.

Semi-shocked Katy Perry isn't lip-synching. Good for her.

9:59 p.m.

Whoever has tickets behind Jason Aldean has to be pissed. That hat is huge, and definitely view obstructing.

10:09 p.m.

Digging Adele's "Mad Men" hairdo. And it sounds like her vocal cord surgery was super successful.

10:11 p.m.

This "Rolling in the Deep" song is good and all, but we're clearly approaching the threshold of hearing it too many times. Starting to wince every time she unleashes the high big notes when she sings the word “all” during the song's hook.

10:12 p.m.

Adele's performance was the exact 180 opposite of the Katy Perry one, in that the focus is entirely on the music rather than a stylized presentation of impressive breasts.

10:22 p.m.

Glen Campbell is sounding pretty damn good. Was somewhat worried he’d forget where he was and start disrobing onstage, or go on a disjointed tirade about Tanya Tucker or something.

10:23 p.m.

That crowd shot just showed Joe Walsh cutting the rug with some hottie! Twirling is involved. Hot chicks like to boogie to Glen Campbell...Interesting.

10:25 p.m.

Was hoping for an Allman Brothers performance since the Grammys are giving them one of those "Lifetime Achievement" awards. (This award basically means, “You’ve been really awesome for a long time and the people who vote on Grammys were too clueless to recognize this in your artistic prime.”) But no dice on the Allmans appearance. Apparently, there’s no room in this telecast for a 20-minute version of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

10:34 p.m.

Tony Bennett can still croon it. Nice. And thank you CBS for the audience shot of Rihanna. She is not sexy as all.

10:36 p.m.

Bon Iver will also be receiving a Grammy for Best Comb-Over.

10:43 p.m.

Wow, I would have played up Hubert Sumlin a little more in this memorial montage. I like Etta James, but without her we wouldn’t have Christina Aguilera. Without Sumlin we wouldn’t have Led Zeppelin.

10:54 p.m.

Please, please Run DMC: Sue Chris Brown immediately.

11:08 p.m.

This Nicki Minaj set design reminds me of the one from Ozzy Osbourne’s "Blizzard of Oz" tour. Or maybe I'm thinking of "Diary of a Madman."

11:12 p.m.

Did that tall goober in Lady Antebellum sell the buttons from his shirt on eBay to raise money for charity or something? Cover yourself up, man - you are not Ritchie Sambora circa-1987!

11:16 p.m.

Adele has really mastered that "Unplugged"-era Eric Clapton graceful Brit/mildly embarrassed Grammy acceptance vibe.

11:20 p.m.

Moments before walking onstage, Diana Ross completed a multi-wig trade with Nicki Minaj.

11:22 p.m.

LL is getting the full-frontal boob-squashing hug from Adele. Ladies Love Cool James!

11:25 p.m.

McCartney is sounding fantastic on this "Long and Winding Road." But his bass player and guitarist look like their pictures should be in the dictionary beside the definition for "studio musicians."

11:30 p.m.

Will be interesting to see if McCartney cuts off this five-lead-guitarist thing during "The End" before it becomes embarrassing. And I think Springsteen practices these eyebrow gestures in the mirror.

11:32 p.m.

McCartney only let this jam go on for four guitar solos too long.

11:40 p.m.

LL Cool J would look cool in a Slayer T-shirt.

The 300-Word Review: The Black Keys single 'Lonely Boy'

Expensive-looking haircuts. MTV Awards. Skinny jeans. These are the kinds of elements that seep into a band following a breakthrough album, and that’s what longtime fans have seen occur with The Black Keys ever since the blues-rock duo’s sixth (and best) record, 2010's “Brothers,” found its way to mainstream ears, production-heavy music videos and 1,032 TV commercial placements.

We’ve all know what happens to grass-roots-grown acts next. They try way too hard to be U2. They make music that avoids where their talents lie (and what drew fans to them in the first place). A majority of the band dates/marries Victoria's Secret models. Cue the inevitable onstage meltdowns and rehab.

If the band is lucky, they spend the rest of their career playing package tours each summer in the sheds. And if it takes a turn for the worse? The musicians end up rooming with Sly Stone in that white van of his and/or appearing as commentators on VH1’s “I Love The (insert decade).”

Which brings us to The Black Keys’ new single, “Lonely Boy,” released digitally Oct. 26 and from the forthcoming LP “El Camino,” due Dec. 6. The track begins with rising-cobra guitar and “96 Tears” organ spires. Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s rich bellow remains in fine form, and drummer Patrick Carney pushes the meter noticeably faster than The Key’s normal mid-tempo wheelhouse.

The Keys probably credit this gearshift to “listening to more punk rock” or something like that, but I bet this song will sound awesome on decidedly non-punk dance floors. The chorus has a disco/soul feel. And the junkyard-lighting wah-guitar throughout the verses is pretty sexy.

“Lonely Boy” is the sound of The Black Keys continuing to ascend on their own terms. The boys may have outrun those breakthrough hellhounds. For now.

The 300-Word Review: 'The Visible Man' by Chuck Klosterman

Since Chuck Klosterman made his name as a music journalist, it’s tempting to describe his second novel, “The Visible Man,” using an analogy from that realm.

But I’m not going to compare this book to the Black Crowes’ sophomore album “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,” a disc whose charms are less immediate but ultimately more sophisticated than the retro-rockers' rowdy debut “Shake Your Money Maker.”

Or maybe I just did.

“Visible Man” focuses on an Austin, Texas therapist with a comic-book-girlfriend name, Victoria Vick, and her mysterious male patient, known to the reader only as Y____.

A rogue scientist, Y____ has developed technology allowing him to become invisible. Y____ uses this power to sneak into peoples' homes in order to indulge his fascination with how differently humans behave when alone. He enlists Vick for sessions to work out his complicated feelings about what transpires during these covert observations.

Klosterman constructs a viscous web in “Visible.” But he does so by restraining his comedic touch to serve the story. Klosterman’s first novel, “Downtown Owl,” explored small town quirkiness via the author’s dazzling pop-culture riffery. However, “Owl” built to a less than satisfying ending that - unlike the rest of the book - felt unnatural.

“Visible Man” is completely the opposite. The first two-thirds of the tome are a slow burn.

Waiting for Klosterman to fully unleash his wit, I kept thinking, “‘Wow, I liked ‘Downtown Own’ a lot better than this.” Some of Y____’s voyeuristic stories are, well, pretty lame. (Turns out, there’s a reason for this.) Klosterman really opens things up during the last third of “Visible Man,” when it becomes apparent life and death will be at stake.

Finishing the book’s last sentence on page 230, I found myself thinking, “Man, this completely smokes ‘Downtown Owl.’”

20 years gone: What if 'Use Your Illusion' would have been one disc?

At 11 a.m., an employee raised the metal gate in front of a record store – it may have been called Turtle’s – inside a Tuscaloosa, Ala. shopping mall to open for the day.

I’d been waiting outside the store for approximately nine minutes.

It was Sept. 17, 1991 and Guns N’ Roses, the reigning kings of hard rock, were finally releasing not one but two new albums, “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II." This event was totally worthy of ditching a Biology 101 class, which was taught by a University of Alabama instructor so profoundly boring his last name should have been Ambien.

With tax, a purchase of both “Illusion” CDs totaled over $30. This amounted to more than half the money I had to get by on for the week. These were acceptable terms. Like many fans, I’d been waiting for this day for over four years, which is how long it had been since Guns dropped their lone full-length, the scorching 1987 debut “Appetite For Destruction.”

Speeding back in a white Honda Accord, which boasted only a cassette player, to my green-carpeted apartment, I couldn’t wait to jam the “Illusion” CDs into the stereo system. The anticipation was at level of which I’d experienced years ago at a friends' party while stumbling to a bedroom with a girl to get laid for the first time. (Incidentally, that rite of passage occurred to the strains of the Sammy Hagar-period Van Halen album “5150.")

Having heard some of the “Illusion” songs via bootleg and also at a Guns concert in Birmingham a few months earlier, it wasn’t a shock that their new music was more complex and sprawling than “Appetite” (which while containing undeniably hot playing and arrangements was much more direct).

In 2011, the word “epic” is totally played out, but there’s no better word to describe many “Illusion” songs, such as “Coma,” “Estranged” and, of course, “November Rain.”

As any super-fan would, I spun the “Illusion” LPs constantly for a week. Poured over the cover art and liner notes. Memorized lyrics and riffs. The Rod Stewart-goes-metal ballad “Yesterdays” quickly became a favorite, as did “Civil War,” a whisper-to-a-scream number that remains one of the best Guns songs ever.

But unlike the cheetah-lean “Appetite,” there was definitely fat on the “Illusion” discs.

Did we really need two version of the lullaby “Don’t Cry,” which had the same backing track but different lyrics? There were some cliché-riddled rockers too, such as “Bad Apples” and “Dead Horse.” And the least said of “My World,” which sounded like psychotherapy fed through one of Trent Reznor’s synthesizers, the better.

The prominent addition of synths, sound effects and bloated studio tinkering (the most inexplicable: occasionally dousing Axl Rose's leonine vocals in electronic goo) on “Illusion” was the antithesis of the bullet-hard “Appetite.” (Yes, I know there’s some synth on “Paradise City,” but it’s just a taste and not a major sonic component of the track.) In Slash’s 2007 self-titled autobiography, the Guns guitarist wrote that at one time he possessed a rough mix of “Illusion” before those superfluous elements were added. Unfortunately, Slash also wrote he has long since lost said mix.

The Guns N’ Roses arc has been told many, many times. They were going to be my generation’s equivalent of Led Zeppelin (and Axl and Slash our Plant and Page), then, quite suddenly, it didn't pan out. I’m still a massive fan. Even though I wonder what might have been…What if Guns were together enough to follow "Appetite" with a full-length album of sharp acoustic songs, instead of the five that appeared on their 1988 EP “Lies.” (Clearly, this would be an unprecedented and dichotomous pair of records.) And then, the coup de grace - an ambitious yet airtight third LP. Yes, a single-disc version of “Use Your Illusion” would have completed a rock ‘n’ roll triptych for the ages. Below are the 15 songs and running order that should have been on there, paired down from the 30 tracks released on the “Illusions” discs. Oh well, there's always iTunes, right?

“You Could Be Mine”

“Bad Obsession”

“Dust N' Bones”

“Garden of Eden”

“Civil War”

“Pretty Tied Up”

“Back off Bitch”

“Don't Cry”

“Perfect Crime”

“Locomotive”

“Yesterdays”

“Knockin’ on Heaven's Door”

“Coma”

“You Ain't the First”

“November Rain”

Chris Robinson's psychedelic soul sabbatical

“It may seem like we take a lot of time between songs. That’s because there’s no time in our dimension…and we have the passports to prove it.”

And so a bearded and barefoot Chris Robinson addressed the crowd Thursday before the Black Crowes frontman’s solo band kicked into their fifth song of the night. The ensuing tune, a spirited cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha,” ignited a roomful of noodle-dancing inside Birmingham, Ala.'s Workplay Theatre.

Robinson, 44, still has those soulful pipes. However, the bolt onto which they are woven in Chris Robinson Brotherhood, his newest side-project, is a different hue than The Crowes’ loud, Faces-meets-Allmans boogie. CRB is more akin to the sticky, blue-eyed R&B of Delanie & Bonnie. There’s a half-ounce of ’60s Marin County-style jamming in there, too.

Of the three or so configurations of Robinson’s solo bands, this one seems the most in-tune with the music he’s gravitated toward as he’s gotten older.

That said, the Workplay show was slow out of the gate. “Tomorrow Blues” is pretty woozy for an opening song, although the spaceship-like noise Adam MacDougall conjured from his bunker of vintage keyboards did not go unappreciated.

A strolling “Roll On Jeremiah,” a bluegrass-y track from the Crowes 2009 double-LP “Before the Frost...Until the Freeze,” followed.

By the third number, “Tough Mama,” CRB settled into its wheelhouse. A tight, stoned amalgamation, punctuated by hirsute guitarist Neal Casal’s spidery Jerry Garcia licks, plucked on a crimson Gibson SG. MacDougall’s wah-wah blurts greased the wheel.

Later in the first set, CRB delivered a new, standout gospel-tinged ballad, “Star or Stone.” Yes, the first set. After an hour-plus run through eight songs, the California-based quintet took a 30-minute or so break – How many bong hits do you need, bros? - returning to play for another 90 minutes or so.

The second set belonged to drummer George Sluppick and bassist Mark Dutton. The duo’s trance-y yet rootsy groove was unrelenting, with Sluppick working his blue kit from underneath a 10-gallon cowboy hat while the afro-ed Dutton laid down thick lines on a vintage cheapo bass. The rhythm section’s acumen was particularly evident on “Ride,” an absolute booty shaker.

In addition to belting out his trademark vocals, Robinson, clad in faded tie-dye and jeans, played crystalline-toned, chicken-scratch rhythm guitar on every song. He even pulled off a few solid-if-simple blues solos on his orange Vox guitars.

The striding “Sunday Sound,” which like “Ride” is from Robinson’s otherwise mellow 2002 solo debut “New Earth Mud,” drifted on a mid-tempo river. “Girl on the Mountain,” from the singer’s underrated 2004 “This Magnificent Distance” LP, was a druggy mist.

The band’s encore, a roll through Willie Dixon’s “Seventh Son,” was more chill than thrill.

But Robinson is clearly in his own skin playing psychedelic soul music. It’s an age-appropriate vocation. I can't imagine Robinson in his 40s crawling around the stage with his shirt half-unbuttoned and pretending to be Mick Jagger, like he was the first time I saw the Crowes live, at a 1990 show opening for Robert Plant in a Birmingham arena.

Chris Robinson looks a lot happier now.