I have been trying to write this post since Sunday night, and it keeps taking a back-seat to other things, so here it is. MGAL just posted something about a discussion going on about The Stripes, but here is what I thought of the concert:

Before seeing last Saturday’s show in Detroit, my perception of The White Stripes was that they are a great band. Their songs are original, they use instruments unique to most popular bands and they somehow manage to play their songs with only two people.

After seeing them in concert on Saturday from my row A seat in the balcony of the gorgeous Masonic Temple Theatre, though, my perception of Jack and Meg White has undoubtedly changed.

The White Stripes are an AMAZING band. Their ability to switch between musical genres is, frankly, unmatched by any musical duo – or person, maybe with the exception of Ray Charles – that I have ever seen or heard.

I am not kidding you when I say that they played country, garage rock, pop, blues, metal and folk – and a few others in between – and they not only played them, they played them well.

Jack was in stellar form, and is much more of a performance artist than I realized before seeing the show. Although his ability to play multiple instruments, sing, and write good songs clearly showcase his abilities on their own, he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand with his showmanship. Meg certainly held her own, too, and brought the house down both times she stepped up to the mic. My opinion is that any girl that can play drums like that deserves respect.

There were many awesome things about the show, but my favorite was when Jack played the entire song, “The Nurse”, on the xylophone.

Rock on, White Stripes!