The White Stripes to release ‘Live in Detroit’ recordings

Image: AFP Relaxnews

As the now-disbanded White Stripes mark the 20th anniversary of their founding in 1997, they’re set to release recordings of three live shows performed in their hometown of Detroit at the turn of the millennium.

“The White Stripes Live in Detroit: 1999-2000-2001” will be presented in three LPs, each featuring one of the band’s gigs in the Detroit area.

On July 30, 1999, at the Magic Bag in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, they performed their first show following the release of their debut album. The show also marked the first time Jack and Meg White incorporated a piano into a live performance.

On Aug. 18, 2000, the duo appeared at Detroit’s Magic Stick, where the set list included the only known live performance of Captain Beefheart’s “Ashtray Heart”, a rare live outing for “I’m Bound to Pack It Up” and “Let’s Shake Hands” to end the set.

The band returned to Detroit a year later, hot on the release of “White Blood Cells”; in the third of three gigs at the Gold Dollar, they performed that album in full, marking the only time the band would perform an album live in its entirety.

The three successive recordings track a band on the rise. In the package, each LP will be housed in a sleeve that references the studio album they were promoting at the time. Also included are posters designed by Jack White for the shows and originally printed in no more than two dozen copies to be posted at shops and bars around Detroit.

The recordings are being released as the latest installment in Third Man Records’ Vault subscription series. The sign-up deadline to receive the package is set for Oct. 31.

Hear a teaser via Soundcloud. JB

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