Jack White at the Southside Ballroom (Gilley's)
We went to see the great Jack White III last night here in Dallas. I scored tickets last year in mid-November when the show was announced. Like the other shows on his tour, this one was completely sold out. And it worked out that my lifelong buddy was back in town to bring along to the show. This was sweet karma for me because I owed this friend who nudged me to wander from our safe suburb down to Deep Ellum back in the late 1980's and introduced me to all sorts of great local acts like the Rev. Horton Heat, Shallow Reign, New Bohemians, Ten Hands, and Three on a Hill.
On the way to the Southside Ballroom, our route happened to take us by 508 Park Avenue. I used to take my ESL classes by here on a walking tour to explain to them how the great blues artist Robert Johnson recorded most of his music here. It's been a derelict building for some time now. Hopefully the Encore Park effort will restore it and incorporate it into our Cultural District downtown. Dallas isn't exactly known for its careful preservation of its cultural heritage.
I was sure to point out 508 Park Avenue to my buddy as we made our way to the show. Its windows are now boarded up with plywood.
I couldn't hear what Jack White was saying after the set closer "Seven Nation Army" until this morning after when I was reviewing the video that I allowed myself to shoot. Playback revealed that, being the musical historian that he is, Jack White also made a point to mention that we were mere blocks away from where blues legend Robert Johnson recorded most of his surviving recorded material. The evening was bookended by an appreciation of Dallas' historical contribution to the blues.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/jack-white/2025/south-side-ballroom-dallas-tx-6b5eeac2.html
- Old Scratch Blues
- That's How I'm Feeling
- I Walked From Dallas (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
- It's Rough on Rats (If You're Asking)
- Sixteen Saltines
- Cannon (The White Stripes song)
- I Think I Smell a Rat (The White Stripes song) (followed by "Cannon" reprise)
- Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes song)
- Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs song)
- The Union Forever (The White Stripes song)
- Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes song)
- That Black Bat Licorice
- Lazaretto
- Encore: Intro Jam
- Icky Thump (The White Stripes song)
- Morning at Midnight
- Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs song)
- Archbishop Harold Holmes
- Underground
- Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes song)