Inside Jack White’s Hot, Surprise Show in San Francisco

Jack White typically performs at mid-sized venues to arenas, with audience capacities ranging from 2,000 to the tens of thousands. San Francisco got lucky because on a Monday the Great American Music Hall sent an email announcing that Jack White would play in a few days, more precisely on that same Friday October 4th. Tickets sold out in under 15 minutes! If you’re not signed up to get GAMH emails, this is a sign for you to do it now.

Student tickets became available at the box office at noon on Friday, sparking a buzz outside the venue with people trying to score a ticket. From early morning, people gathered, some holding signs, others discreetly asked, ‘Got an extra ticket?’ as people walked by. The scene caused a level of excitement and commotion I haven’t seen in SF for a while.

Not to mention the show was in the middle of the hot wave that hit the Bay Area and still, nothing could stop these people from trying to get a ticket and gather in a crowded venue to see Jack White play for 470 lucky people.

I got there just in time for the concert that started 9pm sharp. It was loud as you’d expect a rock concert to be, but with the heat, it seemed louder. The crowd was full of big-time fans singing along to all the songs, I could see them moving their lips but couldn’t hear them, that’s how loud it was. And it had to be, it was perfect. It was proof that the sound system at the Great American is fantastic!

This was my first time watching a show from the mezzanine and I liked it a lot especially because as a drummer, I really enjoyed seeing Patrick Keeler (one of the greatest drummers alive in my opinion) playing on the side of the stage (!!!) which was so unusual and cool. The great dynamic between him and Jack is evident and it made so much sense to have the drum kit positioned like that. Keeler also plays with the incredible Afghan Whigs and I wrote about when they played at Great American a couple years ago. Sometimes I’m a picky audience members, and I find myself trying to find where the best spot to see but also to hear the show is, I’m glad that the band sounds good from any spot at the Great American.

Another plus from my point of view was that towards the end of the show during a drum and bass jam, there was a commotion in the crowd next to me, and when I looked, Jack White was right there with a big security guy throwing some papers at the audience. The guy next to me got one, I asked him what it was. Nobody knew but everybody wanted it, he let me take a photo. On Reddit people said it’s worth hundreds on Ebay, some people were saying to never sell this cause one day you’ll find out what the real meaning is. I have no idea, if you know, share it in the comments.

It was such a fun night, they even played Seven Nation Army and the whole crowd was chanting “Ohhh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh” like people do it in stadiums and this time you could hear all the people singing.

No professional photography was allowed, so all photos are courtesy of Great American or myself and my Iphone, but if you’d like to buy some shots from this night you can on Jack White’s website.

It was such a fun show, at some moments I felt strong Led Zeppelin vibes which is a big compliment since I’m a fan and I think Jack and the band are as well. I heard rumors Jack would play a surprise concert at Hardly Strictly, but that did not happen. It was such a treat to see this show in a venue like The Great American, it felt good to be there!