A lot has happened in the 17 months since Jack White was last in Toronto.
He released a book of collected lyrics and poetry. He’s putting on his own art exhibition in England, running all summer. And he volunteered as Stephen Colbert’s music director on “Only in Monroe,” the public-access TV program Colbert hosted the day after “The Late Show” ended.
But White hasn’t stopped touring, announcing a return to the renamed RBC Amphitheatre back in April. That was followed by news of his next album, “Frozen Charlotte,” born out of the fiery performances he’s been giving with keyboardist Bobby Emmett, bassist Dominic Davis and drummer Patrick Keeler these past few years.
There was nothing frozen, or even remotely cool, about the more than 16,000 people in the crowd at one of Toronto’s hottest concerts on record. It felt like 40 degrees when White hit the stage at 9 p.m. with the sun still out. Or at least I think it was 9 p.m.; White has gone back to the no-phones policy that was a hallmark when he played Budweiser Stage in August 2022.
Something that wasn’t on many music fans’ radar until recently, let’s be honest, was opening act Angine de Poitrine. The two-piece, Quebec outfit accepted White’s offer to be on his Toronto bill, even though they were playing their first of three shows at Mod Club later in the night.
The polkadot-clad band who claim to be 333-year-old alien time travellers got a thunderous ovation from those smart enough to arrive at the venue in plenty of time to lock up their phones. Whether you want to call it space-age math rock or absurdist experimentalism, Angine de Poitrine is a legitimate phenomenon, and Toronto was primed to see what all the hype was about. The sight of thousands of people bouncing up and down while doing the inverted diamond hand gestures the outfit is known for was pretty cool.
White is apparently a believer, as he started his set wearing a black-and-white polka-dot shirt. That fashion choice didn’t last long as he and his backing band blazed through 23 songs in 100 minutes. The show was light on banter; White checked on us from time to time, to ask how we were all doing, but for the most part he let his guitars do the talking.
Surprisingly, we only heard four cuts from “Frozen Charlotte,” which was released just four days before. We got nearly twice as many songs from The White Stripes’ beloved catalogue, including “Icky Thump” — although without the “Icky Trump” amendment White has been prone to do. (Anyone who follows White on Instagram knows he is no admirer of the U.S. president.)
There were a few nods to our city. On stage, Davis was sporting a Toronto Maple Leafs T-shirt; thankfully not a jersey as that would have been too hot for comfort. But the coolest aspect of the show may have been a custom-designed poster that paid homage to Sam the Record Man, and other Toronto-area record shops.
At times, White’s mic made it tough to hear him clearly. I didn’t realize until a friend told me that it was Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” that White sang a snippet of during a fast-paced jam to start the encore. Despite these auditory issues, his message at the end of “Seven Nation Army” came through loud and clear: The spirit of rock and roll is alive and well in Toronto.
