It’s been an interesting Canadian tour for Jack and Meg, and last night they ended their shenanigans on a good note. An “F,” to be precise. We’ll let reader Colin Ryan explain…
The White Stripes finished up their Canadian tour (covering every Canadian province and territory) tonight in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with an amazing set. But the afternoon was just as interesting, seems Jack and Meg had a bit of fun with the fans here.Since every Canadian date prior to St. John’s was preceded by a ‘secret show’ somewhere in the town where the show was taking place, lots of Stripes fans in town were sniffing around all day for rumors and clues as to where the show was… a radio station leaked that Jack and Meg would be showing up at a downtown bar at 4pm, and when I arrived around that time about a hundred fans were waiting for them to show (in the pouring rain). But the bar was closed, no sign of the Stripes. The same radio station then reported about a half hour later that they were going to play at another bar, about a 15 minute walk/run away, which was met by a horde of 20-somethings sprinting through the streets of St. John’s… upon arriving, still no Jack or Meg, with the owners of the bar confused. After most people had gone back to the original bar supposedly housing the Stripes, another tip came via radio: Stripes playing at a particular downtown hotel. Again, a hundred or more Stripes fans running through the streets, blocking traffic, into the lobby… again, very confused hotel staff not knowing what was going on, and no Jack or Meg.
What interested me and the friend who I was running back and forth with was the car we saw, filled with guys in black suits, black hats, and red ties, one of which had a camera and was yelling at people, “where’s the show? where’s the show?”… clearly people in the Stripes crew (I’m going to take a stab and say they were filming a DVD).
When we again went back to the original bar, and waited another 20 minutes or so (still raining)… and an equipment van pulls up, and guys in the same red and black suits come out and tell us: “the White Stripes will be here in half an hour, and will be playing an outdoor show that consists on ONE NOTE.” One note? “Yes, ONE NOTE, and ONE NOTE only.”
So we wait another 30-40 minutes while the roadies set up the stage, full drumkit, keyboards, mics, tuned guitar, amps, Stripes colors, complete set. Many people saying, “They have to be playing more than one note…” By 6pm about 300 or more fans had gathered on George Street, when Jack and Meg finally show up and take the stage. Crowd goes wild, Meg sits at the drums, Jack lifts up his guitar, and…….. BAM. One chord on his guitar and a simultaneous strike of Meg’s snare and…. that’s it. Instruments are abandoned, and Jack tells the crowd, laughing, “We have now officially played in every Canadian Province and Territory,” and leaves quickly with Meg in a car. Hundreds of fans left looking at each other.
All in all, hilarious time, since it was followed by the Stripes rocking out for 2 hours at Mile One Center about an hour later, the whole thing seemed like an elaborate ruse to make for great viewing on DVD.
Thought you guys would get a kick out of this, I sure did, even if I did get soaked. What can I say, I have a sense of humor.
Here it is in all its one-noted glory.
Make that the only time you’ll ever hear a concert end in “One More Note!” chants. The YouTube uploader has a sense of humor, too, noting the setlist as:
1) F
Looks like the Stripes picked the right crowd to joke with! See below for a spread of Colin’s photos from the one-noter and later at Mile One Center.
ROADIES MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS TUNED PERFECTLY
“I REITERATE THIS SHOW WILL CONSIST OF ONE NOTE”
CROWD WAITS FOR … ONE NOTE
THE ONE NOTE
“WE HAVE NOW PLAYED IN EVERY TERRITORY AND PROVINCE IN CANADA”
LATER THAT NIGHT…
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Genius. This DVD sure is gonna’ be awesome.
Gee, what fun for the Stripes roadies to set up and break down for no reason. Anyway, I blew a killer snot bubble in an F sharp once..
i’m pumped for the dvd, i saw the ottawa show and it kicked ass.
If you’re going to copy, do it from the best:
http://junior.apk.net/~hoon/5Monk.html
just me one of the top 10 funniest things of all time
If the fans enjoyed it, that’s good but doesn’t anyone feel that they sorta got exploited?
Exploited? It was free, the crowd got ample warning it was only going to be one note. No one got exploited. Of course, it’s disappointing that they didn’t play more notes(ha ha ha)…I’m sure the crowd would have loved to hear a few songs.
At least the crowd were told it was only going to be one note. If they’d made everyone run ragged around town and not said anything there would have been some really annoyed fans I’m sure. But then, at the end of the day they don’t need to even be doing the shows before the shows…
Good to see that the crowd saw the humourous side of it.
Bah, of course, they have to go and pull these sorts of shenanigans in Sin-Jaaahns (St. John’s, in the local dialect) years after I’ve friggin’ lived there!
Can’t wait for the DVD though, you just know this whole business’ll be on there. “One more note”, indeed!
I laugh every time I think about it. Sounds like something out of Monty Python.
Ample warning? They were told it was going to be one note only after they had run from place to place and stood outside in the rain. You say it’s not the White Stripes’ fault that these fans put stock in the rumors? But it was the White Stripes camp that put out these rumors in the first place.
I’d like to see them try to pull shit like this in Philly.
Pearl Jam has encored with “one note” before. I think they did it in Boston and then actually played an encore, but they did it as a second encore in Alabama and that was that.
It’s FREE. How can you be pissed about a free show?
yea, wow, cause philly would really show them huh. whatevs.
That shit wouldn’t fly in Topeka either.
too bad it’s not april 1st. That was the best. I don’t feel bad for those guys cause they were just hunting for a free concert that wasn’t promised. I once waited for bjork in the freezing snow and she was supposed to sign 100 autographs but broke out at 30. I could have killed her ass,
Brilliant. Fuck the haters. No one had to pay for it or even go to it. And I don’t think it was an exceptional amount of effort for the roadies, either.
And Meg is hot, as usual.
“Yeah, try to pull that shit in Philly”
ooo what a hard ass
The Stripes didn’t have to play free shows in public places all over Canada, so if they want to have a little fun then let them do it.
“Ample warning? They were told it was going to be one note only after they had run from place to place and stood outside in the rain. You say it’s not the White Stripes’ fault that these fans put stock in the rumors? But it was the White Stripes camp that put out these rumors in the first place.”
and how do you know it was their camp who put the rumors out? its the fans fault for banking on radio station rumors, by this point the fans should have known how this secret show saga has worked, and thats through the bands message board. and now actually going and checking the board, unlike every other secret show, where they were announced under a half an hour before, this was announced THREE HOURS in advance, and the post says flat out ONE NOTE.
i was really hoping that maine would be treated to a secret show, but progressively watching more and more people catch on to them, and now with the stripes playing this joke, im a little more under the belief that these were for canada only and probably wont continue into the states. if only maine wasnt the first show heh.
Would it have killed them to play one song? That would have blown the minds of their fans, instead of this one note crap.
They actually played a show 5x times longer than promised if he played the entire f chord. Thanks jack.
THAT IS SUCH FUCKING BULLSHIT
Come on, people, at what point do you like a band so much that you will love whatever garbage they throw at you? I wish the crowd would have gotten pissed off and rushed the car.
I hate this indy rock attitude where anything weird is cool and giving your fans what they want is lame. They are FANS. They LIKE the band. They followed the band through the fucking RAIN all day and the Stripes acted like they didn’t give a shit. Who cares if it was free? I’m sure there were people who lost money taking off work, or who couldn’t afford to attend the real concert and were hoping to get a taste here.
These people were exploited and I hope they realize it. Fuck them if they don’t. And fuck the Stripes for disrespecting their fans.
Geez Greg,
“Fuck them and Fuck the Stripes.” Who pissed in your indie-os? They didn’t have to play secret shows in every province they’ve been to. For the last one they have a little fun with the fans. I think by now, the White Stripes are pretty much known as a fun band that’s full of surprises. What’s the big deal? Canadians are good hearted people, I’m sure they loved it. Don’t get so worked up over a band’s gig.
it’s amazing that some people can find ways to complain about this. the stripes have been showing up all over the place in canada – in a bowling alley in edmonton, in a factory outside of london ON, etc – and people will still find a way to bitch about it. no one’s saying you have to be a fan, but if someone playing a free show to his/her fans is so aggravating to you, just kill yourself now. you – and we – will thank you for it later.
Assholes
this is the most hilarious act of self-parody / expanding-your-own-myth since that Victoria Beckham show aired the other night. Proves that the Stripes can literally play one note and people will go bat shit over it for no reason whatsoever. Kudos, Stripes.
Wait I really don’t understand why people are mad here…is it just because you’re extremely ignorant or just dislike the White Stripes. They said it would only be a one note show BEFORE HAND and the crowd UNDERSTOOD THIS hence the chanting at the end. It was simply all in good fun…only people mad at this are here. Am I missing something?
one more note!
comme ci comme ca
They should (and could) have led those Newfies on an 12 hour goosechase. Anyone ever been to Newfoundland? They would have chased the Stripes for weeks.
Meg’s rack is A+
Am I mistaken or is that first picture of Gabe the Roadie (of Murder City Devils).
I had the chance to meet that dude a few years ago when a buddy of mine was on tour with The Blood Brothers and he is definitely a stellar dude. He parties hard too.
anyways, i’d be pissed if i wasted my day on this.
I don?t like it at all ? I?d be pissed because of course people wouldn?t honestly think they?d go through all that trouble for a note ? then we they went ahead and did that, I?d feel a little exploited for some DVD shoot or whatever they are up to.
I think they were trying to be funny at their fans expense. Let them try that in NYC or LA ? it wouldn?t go over so well. I think they took advantage of the situation in Canada and the smallish (yet devoted) crowd that followed them from rumored stop to stop. They are abusing their fan devotion and popularity for their own gain. To me that?s not cool whether its a joke or not. Those who follow them around would see all the prep going on (a full rig and stage setup???) and think if it was one note then it would be so elaborate, plus would you want to be the one that said nah its only one note and left, when it turned out to be a full set. That?s the playing with their fans part. They knew that they have people there regardless and used that to film their silly dvd stunt.
Another angle of the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vYlHTGsmso
its kind of sad that some of you are putting this much thought into something that was clearly done as a joke and not in an insulting way. Of course I would expect some of you to overlook the fact that they just completed a tour of Canada that has had them playing a FREE FUCKING show before every major show that was done out of the love the Stripes have for Canada and their fans. If they did really have the kind of ego that would allow to only play one note in order to exploit their fans, I don’t think they would of bothered with the other 14 or 15 free shows they did before this one.
Who ever posted this is a fag. The White Stripes are a good band but to sit and hear one note after all that? They are fucking assholes. Making their people set that all up and take it all down, making people wait in the rain? What a bunch of fucking queers. I used to like them but now I hate them. What fuck faces.
whos on more drugs fans or band? if u can call that a ‘band’
why the fuck wouldn’t you call them a band??
caveat emptor…oh, wait, actually…caveat venditor…oh wait, there was no sale…hmmm…caveat hominus…yeah, i think that fits..OAK
Shouldn’t they have played 3 notes?
Just sayin….
Just goes to show how mindless and ridiculous fans have become, to actively participate in what is little more than a band showing their fans exactly how trained they are.
Stupidity. Absolute stupidity.
I’m going to piss on every commenter who expressed their support for The White Stripes here.
And they won’t get to complain, because i’m pissing on them for free.
I live in St. John’s, they even had this on the local news. It was quite funny. The stripes even stopped off at some bingo hall here the night before and did a quick acoustic set lol.
Buahahahaha that was fucking hilarious!!!!
Major Fucking Kudos Stripes!!!
lmao ok lets see anyone here who has shot off about how bullshit this show is doesnt quite understand the newfoundland mentality.
now i know all you hot shit people this their all assholes for doing this. but in reality it was fucking awesome it was a laugh they know it was a laugh and we know it was a laugh dont take everything so seriously. besides the show afterwards was more than enough to make up for it. Getting a concert to come to newfoundland is a treat let alone a duo that likes to have a good time. i think it was a great idea.
it’s the white stripes guys of course jack is gunna be playing some jokes. id go see em play one note in a heartbeat. their awesome, and i cant wait till they come to lincoln.
i think everyone saying it’s wrong is full of shit. i paid good money to go see the stripes and in all honesty if you waited in the rain and you got to see an f chord played by the stripes then you got way more than you paid for, and hopefully you appreciate that. if you don’t, then go f-chord yourself!
I have no way of confirming this, I’m from Newfoundland, and a friend of mine just emailed me saying the Stripes also played at a Bingo hall and sang Jolene to a woman named Jolene.
So, haters, they did more than one note in St. Johns….if what I just said is true.
my grandparents are from newfoundland and i say the white stripes picked the perfect place for the one note concert. newfoundlanders are the kindest, friendliest people i’ve met and above all else, they can appreciate a good joke.
nfld is a hard place to live and is plagued by a poor economy and worse weather. you need a good sense of humor to survive there. the ‘one more note’ chant made me want to take the ferry up and party on george st. again.
imagine if the stripes did this in williamsburg, bk? it would spark a hipster riot.
Man, I didn’t know how many fellow Newfoundlanders read Stereogum!
“Newfoundlanders are the kindest, friendliest people i’ve met and above all else, they can appreciate a good joke.”
Uh, the Newfie I live with gets into several fights a year and has a history of beating the shit of out of people twice his size. Everyone says it’s a Newfie thing…
that’s insane.
The concert at mile one was awesome, and to be perfectly honest i’m sorry i was working earlier that day. I would have gone to the “one note” show for a laugh….even in hindsight.
“imagine if the stripes did this in williamsburg, bk? it would spark a hipster riot.”
Nah, they would just inundate Brooklyn Vegan with angry comments. (See the comments under various BV posts about the Boredoms’ BOADRUM 77 or whatever the fuck it was called.)
mark b …… mark brophy???
great joke.
Clearly, half the people commenting are seriously lacking a sense of humor. What a bunch of lame-o’s. Fucking relax, will you? Music should never be taken THAT seriously.
Greg, I think our reputation is somewhat inaccurate. Some of us definitely live up to it, I mean, the good people are really good people, and you probably won’t find that kind of kindness in many other places..but people seem to think that means there is no bad side to Newfoundland, and there certainly is. The economy is kind of lacking, pretty much always has been, and there are a lot of depressed people, often because of this. I find that as a result there are a lot of drug abusers (especially with alcohol)..and with our sometimes traditional values comes a traditional belief in abuse.
Ok, I’m not gonna say “oh that was stupid, fans got exploited” or “DUDE, THEY PLAYED FREE SHOWS FUCKING EVERYWHERE, WHY IS EVERYBODY PISSED”. I get it.
I got mixed feelings though, and since the fans were so cool about it, I think the only thing the stripes couldve/should’ve done was get those roadies to throw some free merch at em. No harm done – who doesn’t like free shit? Give the fans some ebay candy.
Hi. I am in Newfoundland, and this show was my 7th time seeing Jack…5th WS, 1 Raconteurs, 1 with the Stones. All the same, I am glad I did not see this. Most people I know did not know it was 1 note, only the computer geeks. The Fans heard of a show and followed the rumour around. They supposedly came to my bar, CBTG’s @ 3pm looking to do the 1 note there. Ironically, I had just dropped in at 2pm after flying in from 2 shows in NS and PEI, and missed them knocking on my door by 40 minutes! Had it happened in my bar, well it would be publicity…but I do not think people would have been as impressed or accepting of the 1 note(especially with liquor involved). I know several people who were ‘borderline on going to the show’, that were at the 1 note show and did not buy a ticket for the show later. Me, I had 2 tickets, one in a box, one on the floor! I gave away 4 tickets at my bar and picked up several others for friends, I did my part. They never did come to the bar, which features 2 LARGE framed prints of Jack and Meg directly over the bottles, but it was the 3rd busiest night we ever had, in just 2 hours after the show! In the end, that feeds my daughter! cheers, sandy, cbtg’s, st johns home of rock and roll!
Canadians are awesome. I wish we were half as laid-back and funny. “One more note!!!” They didn’t even miss a beat.
Yes, “jack” does a lot of zany stuff. Unfortunately, just making good music has not occurred to him yet. He should be treasuring the opportunity to reach people, not spitting in their faces with these egotistical stunts. (Not that it’s unusual for mainstream acts to despise the very fans who support them.)
It might seem funny for a little while,
Until you see that the joke’s on you…
(myspace.com/thefundament — “Versus”)
They chased his ass around in the rain and he wont even play them a whole song!? He should be grateful people care enough to even buy his music since we can get it off the internet weeks before its even out and play it on the radio. Oh but he knows that too well doesn’t he