Jack White and The Hives still make us believe in rock

If rock’n’roll in its most essential and visceral form exists and still means something, then we saw it on the first day of The First Summer with The Hives And Jack White. The evening began with what defines itself with ironic shamelessness as the best live band, and we also understand why.

The Hives

Fans of the band say that the Hives show is always the same, always managing to be unique. This time too the Swedish quintet put together their classics such as “Enough Is Enough” and “Walk Idiot Walk” with songs from the last two albums “The Hives Forever Forever The Hives” and “The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons”. The show is fun and Pelle Almqvist is a perfect master of ceremonies, playing freeze with the band and having fun speaking in Italian. Obviously there was no shortage of great classics such as “Tick Tick Boom” and “Legalise Living” for high quality rock’n’roll fun.

But the best was yet to come and although the crowd was adoring the Hives, the almost ten thousand spectators had flocked to Lido di Camaiore to see Jack White, for the first time as a soloist in Italy – something he also remembered in the very rare pauses between songs.

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Jack White

In recent years, Jack White has rediscovered his love for stripped-back blues and garage rock. Accompanied by an extremely small backing bandcomposed of Bobby Emmett’s keyboards, Dominic Davis’s very precise bass and Patrick Keeler’s drums, White has spaced for an hour and a half through his discographyfrom the White Stripes to the Raconteurs, up to his solo works. It was amazing how this Detroit artist, now settled in Nashville, managed to keep the audience in suspense during the first part of the showthanks only to gritty rhythms and his fabulous guitar playing made up of very powerful riffs and solos. In his playing there is as much Seventies hard rock as ancient delta blues: AC/DC side by side with Howlin’ Wolf. One moment he was letting out strident screams from his guitar, à la Tom Morello, and then very naturally unleashing gritty Motörhead riffs from his Kay Hollowbody.

The new single “Dollar Bill” is a honky-tonk punk like no one dares to play today, while in “Steady as She Goes” he dragged the audience into a thunderous chorus: but what is striking is the flow of pure, classic and sanguine rock proposed without tricks, sequences or special effects and, above all, without a break.

In a spartan and very small set with only the blue lights to illuminate it – which acted as an effective counterbalance to the black and white of the giant screens – White gave life to a memorable, generous and fearless live performance. In the second part he drew on the ambitious solo album “Lazaretto” and the repertoire of White Stripes classics such as “Fall in love with girl” and “Icky Thump”, concluding with the inevitable climax “Seven Nation Army” sung at the top of their lungs by the entire audience.

In short, after this first evening of La Prima Estate we can still have faith in rock’n’roll.

The Hives, setlist:

Enough Is Enough
Main Offender
Hooray Hooray Hooray
Paint a Picture
Bogus Operandi
Hate to Say I Told You So
Countdown to Shutdown
Come On!
Tick Tick Boom
Legalize Living
Walk Idiot Walk
The Hives Forever Forever The Hives