The Touring Fan Live
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The Touring Fan Live
Three Nights with Jack White: From St. Louis to Omaha and Everything in Between, interview with artist Pat Hamou
What does it mean to witness true musical spontaneity in an era when most concerts feel meticulously scripted? After following Jack White's No-Name Tour through three Midwest cities in a single week, I discovered the answer—and it forever changed how I view live music.
Standing at the rail for consecutive nights in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Omaha, I watched as White and his band delivered three completely different performances without using setlists. The musical telepathy required is astounding—his drummer never taking his eyes off Jack, waiting for subtle cues that indicate which song comes next. His guitar tech orchestrates a complex dance of instruments, untangling cords and facilitating seamless transitions between songs that weren't planned moments before.
Kansas City delivered the most electric night, with White feeding visibly off an enthusiastic crowd, even performing without his guitar for the first time in my fifteen shows of seeing him. Then came Omaha—a businesslike performance without audience acknowledgment, zero White Stripes songs, and not a single word of banter. This wasn't disappointing but fascinating—the realization of White's expressed desire to perform a show featuring only his solo material without saying a word.
The undisputed highlight across all venues was "Archbishop Harold Holmes" from White's latest album—a song that transforms into a quasi-religious experience live. This new material deserves as much recognition as his White Stripes catalog, representing an artist who continues to evolve rather than simply recycling past glories.
The tour concluded with a personal highlight when my nine-year-old daughter unexpectedly met White at our hotel. Her genuine smile when he noticed her White Stripes shirt reminds us that these human connections—artists inspiring the next generation—often matter most. If Jack White is coming anywhere near your city, don't hesitate. There's nothing else like it on tour right now.
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Good evening. My name is Anthony Kurzweil and I'm with the Touring Fan Live and tonight's episode we are going to be discussing Jack White's tour, the no-name tour, and my experiences over the three shows I saw over last week. Uh, little, uh, paul and Tall Trees there react. A big fan of Paul and Tall Trees. Check him out online, especially Spotify, give him a like. Big fan of his.
Speaker 2:I've been a guest on the show, done some stuff for touring fan live, so, um, but today we're here to talk about Jack White and the no Name Tour and everything that led up to the show and me seeing him three times in a row on the rail, my experiences, all three shows. We do have Pat Ahamu. He is the artist from the Omaha show. He did an interview with us. He'll be a part of the show. And then also I interviewed my daughter, charlotte, who was at the Omaha show and her experiences that led up to her meeting Jack White and everything in turn with that.
Speaker 2:Before we get to all that, let me break down the lead up to seeing these three shows and everything that kind of fell in place with it, and I sorry I have a little bit of head cold so I don't mean to blow my nose in your ear and I apologize, but that's where we are. So we went, meaning me and my friend Brad, months ago when Jack announced these shows, we had seen that he was doing three shows in a row between St Louis, kansas City and Omaha and he was like I'm going to, let's, let me fly out, we'll do all three shows. And I said that's a fantastic idea. Now, leading up to this, I've seen Jack White previously about 12 times in different formations, whether it's White Stripes or other things, but that led up to about 12 times. So been a fan of his for a long time. Had seen him first when he was with the White Stripes in Fairfax, virginia, going all the way back to 2005 or 2006. And been a fan since. So when these shows kind of fell in a lap, we thought it been a fan since.
Speaker 2:So when these shows kind of fell in a lap, we thought it was a great idea. So we lined everything up with my friend Brad Cummings flying in us going to St Louis, kansas City and Omaha. The day he flew in we drove straight out to St Louis. We were real excited about it. It was the night before Spent a night at a hotel, got up early and we only saw about I don't know six to eight people in line, roughly uh, right before the show. So we said you know what, we hadn't decided enough, we were doing rail or not. But we said, hey, let's just jump in line. And the weather couldn't have been any worse constant on and off, downpour, rain and um, they split up the lines in six different sections and, fortunate for us, we were able to get in and we were right in front of them.
Speaker 2:Um, the opening band for that show was a local band from st louis. Um, they definitely probably newer to performing for a large audience like this. So they were definitely very uh, I don't know how you say they weren. They weren't mechanically built, I guess, for a large audience. But it was a fun show. A lot of kind of gives me a little bit of like I don't know, old school, kind of pop, punk ish it was. It was a fun show, it was good, but it was just an early taste to get us all lined up for Jack White and I can't tell you how much this show just was like. Just to start off with this. Um, it was really, really good.
Speaker 2:We, you know I had no kind of hopes for the shows. I mean, I know that Jack definitely feeds off the crowd, um, when it comes to building his set list as the night goes on. And you know, for the most part I felt like the crowd wasn't really. And you know, for the most part I felt like the crowd wasn't really wasn't like crazy into, it, wasn't really heavy, they weren't like all over the place, they weren't screaming or yelling and stuff, but for the most part I mean I felt it was a pretty good crowd. The, you know he started, he opened up the show with old, old scratch blues, which was great and I was excited to hear some newer stuff. And that's how I'm feeling was great and I was excited to hear some newer stuff. Um, and that's how I'm feeling was done and I was just hooked.
Speaker 2:That live is something that is almost like a religious experience. He is just so into it. His movements between the, his ability to slide across stage and there was so much room on the stage because it was a new venue called the factory in right outside of St Louis, missouri, and Chesterfield, missouri, and it was done so well, the way he was just able to move from side to side and he had the ability to just kind of be playful and energetic and we were really close to the stage, I would say arm's length between us and the rail on the stage. So me and my buddy Brad, who was to my right, were just really thoroughly enjoying this. Then it went through. He did Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground. Then he did Unknown it's Rough on the Rats.
Speaker 2:Carolina Drama, a Raktan tour song which I wasn't expecting. Great kind of fun just out of the blue play. What's Done is Done. Hotel Yorba Cannon. I Think I Smell a Rat, I Cut Like a Buffalo, which I mean. God, that Dead Weather song. Can we get the band back together? I mean it's been so long that they need to tour again. That's such an underrated band Underground.
Speaker 2:Seven Nation Army and then Lazzaretto 14 songs to start off the first set, a lot of energy, the crowd was having fun with it. It was a really fun set. And then he just came out. And then I'm going to tell you something Archbishop Harold Holmes is my favorite song off the new album and I'm so glad I got to hear it all each night because this song is in itself its own religious experience, the way that. I mean the meaning behind the song, the way he plays it. His style of playing went into what's the Rumpus, blackback, licorice and then ends with Ball and Biscuit.
Speaker 2:The things that I really enjoyed about this show, and especially being up close this is the closest I've ever been to a Jack White show, compared to anything else, was I never recognized how in tune the drummer is and everybody is, to Jack White, because they have no idea what he's going to play. They have no like there's nothing written. So the drummer the entire time I don't know if he ever looks into the audience his eyes are locked with Jack the entire time and the build-up of every song and how they're playing and then like they're jamming. So he has to be in tune with Jack, otherwise he's going to fuck up and he doesn't. The amount of time and practice he's had to have leading up to this tour just to be built in tune with him is super impressive and I think when you look back at just the level of how you have to be like, I guess how professional you have to be to really be able to pull this off, because this is something that not everybody can do. Not everybody can just go on stage and not know what they're going to perform and just make it seem so just easy and just trans, like I don't know, transition into each song so smoothly. It's almost an art in itself, not alone being so talented and being able to just put things together.
Speaker 2:People that know what songs they're going to play every night. Foo Fighters you go out there, you know what songs they're going to get day in and day night. They have the filler in between where they talk about different things about the cities, but for the most part the set list is exactly the same every show and you know what you're going to get. But with Jack White, I mean, you know Pearl Jam once again, big fan, right, they have different set lists every night, but the set list is on stage. So they know what they're doing. They know what they're transitioning to. Hell. The guitar you know the. You know the guitar techs know what, what, what they're tuning them to, how they're moving things along. That guitar tech for Jack White PS the fact that the amount of times he's on stage untangling Jack's chords, transitioning the guitars onto the mic stands he's got three in rotation how he's moving them along and it just makes it look so simple, but the amount of work behind that is mind-blowing.
Speaker 2:There's so many moving pieces to this tour and this tour really, if you look back to 2002, when they did his last tour, where they had the screens behind them and they had different pieces. Some of the shows had the curtains that dropped, others didn't. But the amount of other moving pieces into that and that was, I mean there's a lot less of that. It's just them lights, fog and the musicians. That's all it is this tour. Yet there's still a ton of moving pieces and yet it just moved smoothly All three nights. There was not any ounce or hinkling whatsoever of anything going not as planned and there was no plan, but nothing that showed anything that would have failed. So that was Chesterfield, missouri, one of the cool things too. At the end of the show, jack threw a pick out, landed on one of the guardrails right in front of us. My buddy Brad was able to pick it up and get it and it just was so torn up just from all the slides action. It was so cool to see. I'm so happy for him that he was able to get that so.
Speaker 2:Realistically. We leave St Louis, we drive to Kansas City. Now I will tell you this I was on a high, like I'm like Holy, this is show one, what's two and three going to bring? Because the ability to play a set list like that, have a transition so smoothly, the jamming that did on things, you know, it was just done in a way that was just like a masterclass in what musicians were supposed to do. I mean, this is just all in all. It's just so hard to do this Like it really is. The ability to even play like this and have it set in a set list or know what you're going to do, was hard enough. But to do this the way he did, it blew my mind. So Kansas City comes into play. Now I live in Kansas City. I've lived here for a few years. Kansas City has become home to me. So this was exciting, like I was all lit, you know excited about this.
Speaker 2:Now, previous to this, we only had tickets to St Louis and Omaha, kansas city. We were it was up in the air If we were able to get tickets. We ended up going to the venue early to try to grab some tickets. They said tickets were in drop at three o'clock. We were right at the box office three o'clock and we totally locked out. We went right in line. Weather was not in our favor again, and this one was almost worse in St Louis Just constant, just drizzle, it was just kind of cold. It was brutal and we were about I don't know like 14, 15 back and it was still like we were like all right, we'll get close. We're not sure how close we're going to get, because now, when you think of the difference in the venue, right, the one in St Louis is a brand new venue, only about five years old. The one in Omaha is about two years old.
Speaker 2:The one in Kansas City you're talking about Uptown Theater. That was built about a hundred years ago and it's got the. The inside is built in a way that it has architectural like wood pieces that are just not you don't see anymore. It was built for theater and it was transitioned into a concert hall and I've seen a lot of shows there. It's a great cool atmosphere and I was excited about seeing Jack there because the last time I saw him in Kansas City it was in, you know, starlight Theater, much larger facility seated all around. It's hard to get the crowd into it when you're so spread out and there's all the spacing between seatings. So I was excited about this.
Speaker 2:Me and my buddy brad were about roughly I don't know six off, centered, uh, to the right of jack white and, um, the opening band, another canada city local band, different than the night before, they were more like a harder alternative rock band. They were so happy to be there. And the one thing that really hit me about this band was the lead singer, who's a female, and I have a daughter that's a singer and a drummer in a rock and roll band and she's nine and so I like her look up to other artists. She came out and you can see right off the get get go how appreciative they were to be there and that was really cool to me, like I just they. They were just like humbled by the experience of being able to play there.
Speaker 2:And at one point the lead singer starts talking and telling a story about when she was younger, that she, I guess, started off at drums and then went to singing and it was because of the white stripes that her brother or maybe it was her dad had told her a story and showed her Meg White playing and she thought it was really cool to see that female performing and that, in turn, made her want to be a performer and that's where she got today. And then for her to be able to then in turn, open up for Jack White is, you know, a whole nother experience. So she was so grateful for the experience her entire time and she kept talking about it and that just hit home. And the fact that she started talking again about like, giving back to the community and she was raising money for a local charity that was bringing in personal hygiene products for females that couldn't afford it I don't know it just it really just made me really appreciate the artist and I just it was a really cool experience.
Speaker 2:Um, jack white came on shortly after them and I was not expecting what we got that night. I mean, they come out right out the gate with I want to be your dog, the stooges cover, and I'm telling you right now, the crowd was intense. This is the best crowd I've ever seen at this venue and this is the greatest crowd I've ever seen for a Jack White show ever Hands down, no questions asked. The amount of energy that crowd spewed to Jack White that night was intense and something I will never forget. It is something that is almost a legendary status in itself is something that is almost a legendary status in itself. And I'm going to tell you after I bring it on the set list, the reaction from jack 100 goes key for key, tone for tone, word for word. Exactly what he says in the beginning, that he feeds off the energy of the crowd. And it's 100, correct.
Speaker 2:Um, one thing too, before I get into this, that I thought was interesting was in st louis, um jack White's handler came out, said hey, if you're going to take pictures, be quick. If you can take videos, be quick, put them down. You know, just be, be in tune to the show. You don't have to live stream this Like we kind of like giving people like, hey, go ahead, take pictures, but keep it to yourself. In Kansas City they didn't mention that. And any time anyone In Kansas City, they didn't mention that. And anytime anyone brought a phone out, security was on you, like they didn't want you having a phone out at all. So it was a total different experience with that side of things. So back to the set list.
Speaker 2:I Want to Be your Dog. Old Scratch Blues that's how I'm feeling. Similar opening besides I Want to Be your Dog from St Louis Black Math Sure Enough, and yes, I Do which is the Captain Beathar cover. It's Rough on the Rats. Love that live. Oh my God, that is such a good song, I can't say it enough. The new album is so underrated, I know, for the people in our circles that listen to Jack White we love it, but realistically, the amount of awards that album should be winning, it is such just a home run hit of an album.
Speaker 2:Screwdriver White Stripes song, love Interruption, cut Like a Buffalo my Doorbell, which this was another one that just kind of blew my mind. In the 15 times I've seen Jack White, I have never once not seen him have a guitar in front of him. He always has a guitar in front of him and the fact he took the guitar off and he's walking around with a mic in his hand just singing, it was something that I just wasn't expecting. It was different, it was extremely different, and I will say that I don't know if he knew what to do with his other hand that didn't have the mic, because it's just different. He's a guitar player, I mean he just. It's just different. He's a guitar player. I mean he's a guitar player than a singer. I mean, in my opinion he is one of the greatest guitar players playing right now and for him not to have the guitar was just something I wasn't accustomed to seeing, so it was different.
Speaker 2:Um, then it went to uh, why Walk a Dog? Uh, and then Sure, and then let's see. And then it went to Sure Enough and yes, I Do kind of just the reprise like a little bit into it Stop breaking down blues. Jimmy the exploder tonight, hello operator, which that was another home run. And then underground 17 song opening intro for the first set Absolutely Home run for me. I didn't know what he could have done coming out. That would have been like anything more. Opens up the encore, steady as she goes and I could. This is where the audience 100 showed. Totally gives a vibe to jack white, the steady as she goes. And then the back and forth between jack and the crowd was amazing. The crowd was just into it. This just put put Kansas City on the map. I'm telling you, kansas City does shows right, and the fact that they were just, it was just such a great back and forth, loved it. Lazaretto and then Arshap, harold Holmes, which once again is so good.
Speaker 2:Live, but the live version of it from this show doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he went on a two minute tangent ahead of time preaching, preaching to the audience like a preacher, standing on the pedestal of a church in a way that he was giving his sermon. It was done so beautifully and it was done so well. It was such a kick-ass thing. And then started what you Cannot Finish, and then right to Icky Thumb, to Seven Nation Army, and mind fucking blown, the amount of times he recognized kansas city I love you, kansas city. Smiles on his face like he was just having so much fun. It was an elevated version of saint louis, where jack was just having a time in his life and I was just flawed by it, like I was just like wow, this is this is this is what it's all about. I was on a high. I was like, damn, like this, you can't get any better than this. You can't get any better than this.
Speaker 2:So we went back home and then, uh, off to Omaha the next day. Now, my daughter was originally supposed to go to the Kansas city show, um, and she couldn't. So then we decided to do the Omaha show instead, and she couldn't. So then we decided to do the Omaha show instead. So the next day we traveled three hours from Kansas City to Omaha and we had no intentions, once again, of waiting in line. As a matter of fact, there was nothing ever planned about any line waiting whatsoever for any of the shows. We were just going to enjoy what it was.
Speaker 2:But we got to Omaha and we pulled in, and as soon as we pulled in I thought I had recognized the van in front of the hotel. But I didn't want to, like you know people, a lot of people drive, you know, big vans like that, but nothing labeled on it. But then I saw Jack White's handler walking into the hotel and I was like, oh, like, maybe jack's staying here. I don't know, maybe it's just the handlers. But um, as we were checking into the room and me and my daughter were sitting playing on our phone waiting for everything's over, jack white walks out.
Speaker 2:Me and my daughter which she'll give you her story a little bit later are floored, like like I, and I've never been. I've met a lot of people in my life. I've never been starstruck like I was right then. And there he walks out. He just didn't walk over to us. He's kind of waves and a big smile and my daughter was like I was like, oh my god, and I was like man the whole night. I'm like right, I'm like, oh man, I should have got a picture with my daughter and like, because she would have appreciated that, being someone that you know we're, me and my daughter, have this connection between music, going to shows, her being in a rock band, it's, it's kind of our connection. I'm like I'd have been a cool thing to have, but I was like you know what? We have that story to tell, didn't think any of it.
Speaker 2:So we check into our room, we go to the venue and again, maybe eight people in line and it's three, 30 in the afternoon, and I'm like, all right. So I looked at my buddy, brad. I looked at my daughter. I'm like I don't know if she's going to want to stay in line, but I'm like, do you want to stay in line? She's like, yeah, I'd like to be rail. I was like, okay. So I went back to the car, I got our chairs, we sat there, we waited in line. My daughter was real vocal and had a and she knows some of the Jack White songs. She's a big White Stripes fan. It was kind of a cool experience. We get into the show, we get to rail and we are, I mean, one-off from centered. I mean my daughter was literally the person next to the person that was right in front of Jack.
Speaker 2:The band that came on before them was amazing Local Omaha band. They were just they had these. Like there was a male and a female singer that were vocalizing off each other was done so well. Um, they I guess they're going to third man records in a few weeks to record their new album. So that's kind of cool. So there's definitely a tie-in between them and third man. So, really good opening band I was. It was, it was just they sounded really good and it was just kind of like a different vibe from the other two nights. It was a little bit more alt country maybe. Um, it was just, it was a. I really enjoyed them.
Speaker 2:Jack white comes on, um, like almost like military-esque, right at nine o'clock. I mean, like it was. I don't I think that the hand went right to nine and he was on stage and he, I mean I will say this this was the most different version of Jack that I've seen in the 15 times I've seen him, not, you know, didn't, didn't say anything, um, the entire show didn't, didn't address Omaha, the entire show, uh, didn't interest the band, the entire show, um, and then also we didn't have anybody that came out and said hey, don't take pictures or hey, limit your picture taking, and security wasn't doing so. There was a lot of people taking video and photos almost the entire time. There's, if you go on YouTube, go on social media, there's a lot of people that posted from the show on there.
Speaker 2:But let's go over the set list. So old scratch blues, open it up. And that's how I'm feeling. So, same thing, st Louis, kansas city, omaha minus the. I want to be your dog. Uh, what's done is done. Uh, old enough. Uh, carolina drama love. Uh, interruption. Tennessee border, which that was the highlight of the night for me. Uh, I never heard that before. So that was really cool to hear that live Started. What you Cannot Finish, it's Rough on the Rats. What You're Asking, what's the Rumpus? Freedom at 21,. Underground I Cut Like a Butterfellow Highball Stepper and then Six, all Teams. So once again, really on the money.
Speaker 2:When it came to a set list, 15 songs opener, it was really cool. I was like man, no white stripes. I was kind of surprised by that right book at that point. I'm like, oh, maybe heavy, no white stripes right afterwards, but whatever it is, it is, you know, I'm just hoping that we get, uh, arch, arch, archbishop again, because once again I can hear that every night and it's done so well.
Speaker 2:Um comes out with steady as she goes, which is, you know, very much a crowd favorite, but jack wasn't feeding off the crowd on it, like he wasn't waiting for the crowd to respond back to him. He was just performing the song and then went right to that black back, the black bat, licorice, broken Boy Soldier. And then he did the Archbishop Harold Holmes again, which, oh God, I can't say it enough, this is such a great song, live. And then ended with Lazzaretto. And then such a great song, live. And then ended with lazaretto. And then he took a bow with the audience and left very businesslike.
Speaker 2:Now there was a lot of speculation in the audience of, like, what was going on? Like was maybe the crowd not into it, maybe it was just an off night? Now, listen, there's a couple things. One, this is the third night in a row that he's performing, and not only performing, but he's also driving between the shows like he is literally, literally, if you look on Instagram taking the van from one city to the next city himself. So and that takes a lot on the body. I mean hell. I didn't perform any songs and I was exhausted by third night, so I can only imagine what he's going through.
Speaker 2:Then there was also this article that was pulled up that was on a Reddit form, about Jack White saying recently that he would like to perform a show where he doesn't perform any white stripe songs. He doesn't say anything during the show, he goes out there, he performs and he leaves, which he did 100% in the show. So maybe this was his dream coming to fruition, because the next show that he does, which he does in Minneapolis, he performed eight White Stripes songs the first night. So maybe this Omaha show is kind of the set list that he wants. I mean listen, I mean, yeah, he did.
Speaker 2:He start off with the White Stripes. 100% is White Stripes the big, I guess, launching point for his career 100%. But I mean he's also built this entire other you know, mound of music and a ton of other music that is separated from White Stripes, and you know, and a lot of people that go to concerts sometimes you want to hear that one or two songs and they're not happy if they don't hear them. And a lot of people you know know him from Seven Nation Army Doorbell Hardest, button to Button and things of that nature. That's what they know him for and that's all they want to hear, and they don't recognize that. His ability and what he's done solo with even just the Ragnar Tors, the Dead Weather, his solo career.
Speaker 2:There's so much abundance of music that Jack White has created outside of the White Stripes that is almost, in my opinion, superior to some of the stuff that he did with the White Tribes. So I mean like to me personally, like some of the like the no Name album. There's so many songs on there that are some are politically driven, some are, you know, emotionally driven, religiously driven, that are done in a way that shows stance and they are of art and they're so much more involved in it in a way that it's and they are of art and they're they're so much more involved in in it in a way that it's it's more artistic and it's him. That's what he is right now and what he created 30 years ago is, you know that was a different person. So sometimes it's probably kind of a sigh of relief when he doesn't have to go back to those things and and play the greatest hits.
Speaker 2:I guess I wasn't mad at all. I mean, you know my daughter I think she was a little bummed because she didn't get to hear any white stripe songs. But you know she did know archbishop, she knew steady as she goes, so she was excited about those two. So the show's over, um, you know there was a lot of possibilities. What happened, you know, and there was the, the, the poster and tape on the poster, knowing it was going on. And, um, pat Hamu is who's the my guest tonight and he'll be talking about that a little bit, about why there was so a lot. A lot had happened. We left the venue, I think, just buzzing.
Speaker 2:You know my buddy, brad, who I've been to a lot of concerts with best friend, almost like a brother to me. We talk daily. It was a really cool experience because we have like two different personalities, sometimes, like he's definitely more outgoing, talks to everybody in line. I kind of keep to myself, but we always come back together and he'll introduce me to people and he knows stories and it's just and it's a great experience and we kind of feed off each other from that when we were walking back. It was just kind of a fun, like we did these three crazy days. It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Uh, the next day we were able to celebrate, you know, kind of the the whole experience together, you know, in Omaha for a little bit, um, but we went back to the hotel room and my buddy, mike, who's celebrating his 52nd birthday, had flown in just for the show and we were kind of just chilling in the lobby just waiting for Mike to be able to go back to the airport, for us to go back to the room and just kind of and relax. My daughter, who was I think she's still on cloud nine was, you know, calling my wife and explaining to her what the show, how the show was, and she's telling me she wants to travel more for shows, which was cool and it was just like tugging at the dad heartstrings, right, like it was something that I'll never forget, like these moments you have with your kids, especially at a young age, and being able to surround yourself around things that you love, with someone you love, and and get them to kind of understand why you do the things you do and for them to have an appreciation of it is something I hold cherished in my heart. Um, so, as we're in the uh lobby, um, we're, you know, we're having a couple of uh, I think she was drinking a sprite, I'm drinking, uh, a soda, and the bass player for jack white's show comes in my daughter's like hey. Again, I was shocked. She was just hey, great show up tonight. She kind of looked at her and was like oh, I appreciate that, so kind of you. And then Jack White was right behind her and we both lit up and she kind of waved at him. He smiled and she asked I did or she did. She says she did, I think I did, I don't know. Asked for a picture.
Speaker 2:Now, I wanted to make sure and a lot of people have told me it was a terrible idea. Like I didn't want to be in the picture and it's not because of the way I look and you know I mean I'm not the most attractive person, but it wasn't about me. Like I wanted this to be about her and him having a moment and I didn't want it to be about me Cause I've been in the picture easily 100%. But I didn't also want it to be about like a dad, like I wanted it to show, like her and him and the appreciation between it. And if you look at the photo of them together and you see that smile on her, she doesn't give that smile to a lot of people. I swear to God on that. That is a genuine smile. And he got down he noticed she was wearing a white stripes on a white stripes shirt, like, even like, commented on it, like put a smile. Actually she enjoyed the show and they took the picture. He was so grateful for it, shook her hand and then left.
Speaker 2:And this is the second time I've met Jack White. The first time I met Jack White I was with my son and he was about I don't know five. This was in Virginia a long time ago and he was the exact same genuinely nice person then as he was at that moment and how he interacted with my daughter. And that moment is something I'll cherish forever because it's these moments, I think, build her up to want to continue to do these things, to also show, like, how real these people are. You know, I mean it gives a sense of like if this person is this obtainable and this nice and this normal, then maybe I can be a musician or maybe I can be whatever I want, because there is a lot of people who meet in this world and they just they aren't who you want them to be. And then there's always that saying of like don't ever meet your heroes because they'll disappoint you. Well, when you meet people like this and they are kind and genuine to you, it just makes the world a little bit better of a place. And now my daughter is a buzz and she's ready to go to more shows and she's ready to go to more concerts and even though they didn't play a single White Stripes song, she wants to see Jack White again. So for that I'm forever grateful.
Speaker 2:So we dropped my buddy Brett off the next day. We had a lot of conversations about the show. I think we all agreed. I think if we had to put them in place, it was kansas city's number one, st louis number two, omaha's number three. For us in the, I guess, in the feel of the shows. Um, you know, we had three different, completely different posters for the shows. We had a train for the first one, in st louis, we had a cat in the second one in kansas city and then the third one. We had the, the um Pat Hamu's uh female, uh like old school presence of, like silent film with the rats on them and uh. So all different feels, different venues it was. It was just a really. It just makes you appreciate, like, how different each each show was and super grateful for it. Even putting Omaha number three is like it's still high up on the list of shows I've seen in my lifetime because it was done in a way that I've never seen before.
Speaker 2:So, with this being said, you know I've, I didn't know if I'd come back and I was thinking myself like, would I ever do Jack White three nights in a row again? And the answer is easily yes, it's definitely not, for the. It's not easy, that's for sure. I mean I'll be 40 in a couple weeks and this is not like back in 2000 and God 10 or 13, when I swore Pearl Jam multiple times in a week and traveled and did all those things, like that was easier for me, you know working. When I saw Pearl Jam multiple times in a week and traveled and did all those things, like that was easier for me, you know working. And then going to these things that just it tears up the body, but super grateful for it. So, yeah, so loved it and I'm so grateful for it.
Speaker 2:And I just can't, I can't fathom how talented Jack White is. His ability of just his stage presence, his, his, his, the clarity of his vocals, the way he plays guitar, the way he puts these songs together and he builds a set list in his head that comes fruition in front of your eyes and it's just like a piece of art. It's just like seeing, from song one all the way to song 20 and so on and so forth, how he builds that set list up and he's painting this picture for that city. It was stunning and he's painting this picture for that city. It was stunning and it's something that I'm super grateful that I was able to attend and I can't wait to see it again.
Speaker 2:Jack White is easily one of the top five best touring acts, if not in the top three. For me personally right now, I mean just stunning. I mean he's probably it's between him and my morning jacket, they're tied for number two. For me, like it's just. Those two are just and they're different, but they're similar and there's similarities, but it's just the stage presence is always there. For me, number one's always gonna be Pearl Jam. For me, just, it's just a, it's a whole nother, whole, nother conversation. But man, I mean Jack White just got so much more appreciation from me on so many levels between the show, the set list, the venues, how he performed at him, and then what he did for my daughter just something I'll be here for grateful for. So loved everything about it.
Speaker 2:With that being said, I am uh, I will say this if you've never seen jack white, you're you're missing out. 110 missing out. There is. There is nothing out there right now touring at this moment. If he's coming to you or within a few hour drive of you, you need to take the time and go see him. It is his band, every part of it, between his key players, the bass player, the drummer, everything is locked and loaded. His stageh hands are almost robotic in the way that they move, and nothing has failed him.
Speaker 2:I will say this, though if you're going to the show and you plan on recording the whole time, or you're going to put up signs that say it's my birthday, or you're just throwing shit on stage, you're going to the wrong show. He's not going to acknowledge you. I don't. Out of every show I've ever seen, I've never seen him acknowledge a sign. I've never seen him acknowledge like going to a camera. He's not. He's not doing it for the individual, he's doing it for the crowd, and I will say that you need to recognize that pretty quickly. So, with that being said, I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna go.
Speaker 2:Uh, we have two interviews after this. We have the one. The first interview will be with my daughter, charlotte, her giving her experiences from the show in Omaha, and then we're going to go right into the Pat Hamu interview and then from there that'll be it. So, once again, thank you so much for tuning in. Here is the interview with Charlotte and then the interview with Pat Hamou. All right, so I'm here with Charlotte. Charlotte is my daughter and she is nine years old and she was at the Omaha, nebraska Jack White Show. Isn't that correct? Yeah, and how many times have you seen Jack White?
Speaker 3:This was my second time.
Speaker 2:And tell me a little bit about that day, about going to the show and some of your memories from it.
Speaker 3:Well, I remember I had a volleyball game that morning and then we went straight into the car and then we started going there and we got there and we standed in line to get like front row and we got front row and I was in the front row of the Jack White concert.
Speaker 2:Well, let's talk a little bit about the line. So how long were we in line for?
Speaker 3:Like three hours.
Speaker 2:Three hours. And how was that for you? Because you haven't really waited in a line to get rail before.
Speaker 3:I like meeting new people, like seeing why they were there, where they're from.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. So three hours in line and it was cold that day.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was really windy.
Speaker 2:It was really windy. And then we got inside and we got right to the rail. Tell us a little, tell everybody where you were on the rail.
Speaker 3:Well, I wasn't really in center, I was like the person beside center.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so there was like Jack White was right there, somebody was right there and I was like right there.
Speaker 2:Okay, now let's talk about the opening band. We didn't know who the opening band was. We didn't know much about them. What did you think of them? They were really good, okay, just really good, yeah, all right. Now let's talk about the Jack White show. So you saw him once three years ago, I guess 2002. No, it was. I think it was 2002. I was Yep 2002. I'm looking at the poster.
Speaker 3:I was seven. No, I was six.
Speaker 2:You were six, okay, and now? What did you think of that show? Before we talk about Jack White, this show.
Speaker 3:I liked it because I like the theater, the Starlight Theater, a lot and I liked how it was outdoor. Okay, so you liked how it was outdoor.
Speaker 2:Okay, so when you think back to the Jack White show in Kansas City when you saw him in 2002, what comes to your mind when you think of that show?
Speaker 3:Well, I thought about the White Stripes, songs like Seven Nation Army, stuff like that. Saw them in 2002. What comes to your mind when you think of that show?
Speaker 2:Well, I thought about the White Stripes songs, seven Nation Army, stuff like that, and I think that show they had the screens behind, they had the visuals behind it and things like this, where this show was more just about fog and blue lighting. There was a lot of fog in the show. So you saw Jack White in Omaha. What did you think of the overall show?
Speaker 3:It was fun.
Speaker 2:It was a lot of fun. Yeah, you did dance a lot. Did you enjoy it.
Speaker 3:I liked the show a lot Because this was my first show that I like traveled to go, because most of the time it was just like there was a show in Kansas City that we could just drive to really quick.
Speaker 2:So this was the first time we ever really traveled. Yeah, just for a concert, because we've been to like Virginia and sort of shows in Virginia when we were there for Christmas, yeah, but that's not the only reason we were there, correct, this is the only time we went up there, yeah, so it was a really cool experience, and this was the first time ever that Jack White's never played a show with any White Stripes songs in it. How did that make you feel?
Speaker 3:Well, I know most of the White Stripes songs and I only know a couple of not-White Stripes songs, so I only knew like two songs.
Speaker 2:I think you knew more than two songs, Just two. All right, so that was a great show. But you said after the show, you said you really enjoyed it and it was fun. He's super talented right? Yeah? What was it like?
Speaker 3:being that close to him and seeing him play guitar. It was strange because the last time we were at his concert I was in the very back row and it was different. It was different?
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, so let's go to this. So, on a scale of one to ten one being really bad, ten being really good what would you give this concert? Like a nine? Oh, okay, a nine. You give this concert, um, like a nine? Oh, okay, a nine. All right, yeah, were you impressed by how jack?
Speaker 3:white played guitar like was that something that really stood out to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was pretty crazy he played one more.
Speaker 3:He didn't play just one guitar, he had like three guitars.
Speaker 2:He was just switching really quick in between songs and I think one of the things that stood out to me too it's really interesting is like how he's always like him and the drummer always looking at each other because they don't know what song they're going to play.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they have a set list.
Speaker 2:So they're always kind of like moving along real quickly and yeah, it's pretty nuts. All right, now let's talk about. So. We get to the hotel early and we first notice that the van that Jack White was driving was outside, right, yeah, yeah. And we noticed that Jack White's handler was there, yeah, so while we're checking in, we go sit down Uh-huh, because we're waiting to get checked into our room, yeah, and then who walks in?
Speaker 3:Jack White walks in. No, he walks out of the building.
Speaker 2:He was walking out. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And I was just in shock.
Speaker 2:I was like I think we all were in shock, we both we didn't know what to do.
Speaker 3:It was a quick just walk by and we went.
Speaker 2:But he did give you a wave and smiled at you, mm-hmm, so we knew that he was staying at our hotel. Yeah, yeah, we go to the concert. We had a fun time at the concert. We get back One of our friends, one of my friends Mike, who had flown in for the show, was going to hang out're sitting in the lobby right by the front door. Yeah, and why don't you take over the story from here?
Speaker 3:And so then his, like his bass player, comes in and I said, hey, great job tonight. And Jack White noticed that and he came in and I asked if I could take a picture with him and he said yeah, and he recognized my white striped shirt that I had on. And then he walked away right because he was just going back to his room and I was just in shock. I was just like I just met Jack White but he was really nice to you.
Speaker 2:I mean, he was super friendly and he was. There wasn't a lot of people in the lobby too, which I think helped us, because if there was a lot of people that might have been a little overwhelming, but he was super nice to you, and is it? Is it kind of crazy that for some I mean because you've been in a band with School of Rock now for three years and you've performed multiple Jack White songs yeah, white Stripes songs. Yeah, was it weird to like meet the person that you like covered his music.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So let me ask you this Would you want to see Jack White again? Yeah. Would you want to be on the rail again? Yeah. Would you want to be on the rail again? Yeah, would you do the whole wait outside, you do the whole experience again?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it just can't be as windy as Los Angeles.
Speaker 2:Well, we can't control the weather. All right, if you were to tell anybody why they should go see Jack White, why would you tell them to go see Jack White?
Speaker 3:It's just a really fun show. It's fun seeing how he plays the guitar, how he does it, how he does his show, like how he was saying, how he has to tell his drummer what song they're playing to know what song they're playing, and it's just a really fun show.
Speaker 2:All right. So I think our next show we're going to go see is with my Morning Jacket in a few weeks, mm-hmm. Then we've got a couple shows lined up. We're going to be traveling again Mm-hmm in two months because we're going to go to Third man Records in Nashville to go see who Illiterate Light You've seen Illiterate Light all over the place too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this is my third show I've seen Illiterate Light.
Speaker 2:All right, so they have to hold up. Now to Jack. All right, guys, I am so excited. Tonight we will be talking to uh pat hamu. Uh pat, who recently just did the jack white poster in holanda, nebraska, which is the reason we're tying this into this episode is my guest right now. Uh pat, thank you so much for uh coming on to the touring fan live. My pleasure, pat, you know I so I found out about you because I was on a three-run shows of Jack White. I did St Louis, kansas City, and then Omaha. Omaha was the last one and that's the poster that you did.
Speaker 2:I reached out to you because you know there's so much like you know, poster art. For me, if you know nothing about Touring Fan Live, it's all about music and art, and poster art is something that I'm real passionate about and you know I've always, I'm always intrigued about the process. So you know, with this poster, especially with this being with Jack White, I had so many questions to ask you and I'm so grateful for the time. Yeah, of course, but before we jump into this poster, let me ask a little bit about your background, because you have worked with some of the industry's top artists, you know, not just Jack White.
Speaker 2:You've worked with Arachnotours, slipknot, you've done work for the Tratchley Hit Blink-182, trenestagio. I've looked at on your work you did Queens of Stone Age, you have Foo Fighters, blink-182. I mean, the list goes on and on, and I've seen your work go back asso Beans, and one of the cool things that I enjoyed was watching the progression of your work from your earlier days of you know, 14 years ago to now. So let's let me ask a little bit about your history, like what got you into doing screen prints?
Speaker 1:Um, basically I used to do. I started working with a concert promotion company here in town I'm in montreal, canada, and um, uh, this was like the late 90s and I used to do just basically like pretty fast, like street postering, you know, like when they needed posters, when it used to be a lot more easier and a lot more legal to just put up flyers and paste them on telephone poles and stuff. Yeah, so good friends of mine were working at a small concert promotion company. They knew my background in graphic design and illustration, because that's what I went to school for and I've always been surrounded by musicians, just as friends. I've been roommates with people in bands and things like that.
Speaker 1:So my artwork just sort of, just sort of directed itself this way, not purposely, it just kind of happened. I mean, I love music as well, so that helps, um, so I basically went from like early, sort of what I like to call the cut and paste period, and then, um, as time slowly went by, I I think a big turning point for me was it's not around anymore, unfortunately, but do you remember gigposterscom?
Speaker 2:Oh, I very vividly. We were my friend, brian Meth, who is also does a podcast with me, who does a lot of concert posters. We were just talking about gigposterscom and it's crazy. Like you know, it was there then, now it's Espresso Beans and now it's been other variations. But yeah, I do miss that site tremendously.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that site was just. I mean I would upload my early stuff and of course you can. I mean it was updated daily. I mean this was like a. I mean there's still a lot of posters now, but back then there was a lot of posters and you know, I mean it was a free-for-all because the artists can put them up themselves. There was no curating, there was no. It was a very free sort of space, so it allowed you to see, like the kind of work that was out there and you know it, it it inspired you to do better.
Speaker 1:Um, and I just that was sort of a turning point for me. I kind of did, or my early posters were more of a, you know, a money thing. I mean there's still a money thing, obviously, but I didn't put as much of my heart into it, I guess, for lack of a better term. Okay, and then I was just inspired by the work being out there and I'm just, I just wanted to do better work and I also I got to a point where I stopped using sort of a cut and paste approach and using sort of old imagery and just decided I'm just going to draw all the posters from now on, I'm just going to, it's all going to come out of my hand.
Speaker 1:Um, and yeah, the last 11 to 14 years or so that you probably went back to, that's probably been a reflection of that. So, um, and you know, the posters, I still get inspired by today's poster artists and it's an unspoken little competition between all of us to to not one-up each other, but, you know, inspire each other and you know, try to do the best work you can each time around. It doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes it's schedules, sometimes they need the poster next week, that sort of thing. So but yeah, that's sort of. My background is just working with a local concert production company and then they hired me to do some of the touring band stuff. So I would do sort of special gift additions that they would give, and then it's sort of snowballed from there.
Speaker 2:Really, so it is interesting, the one thing that I've always like fallen in love with being, I mean, I went to school for photography. So film photography, like the transition from that to modern, you know, photography with digital, and even thinking of, like you know, the old ways of everything being on telephone poles and like the staples in it, and back then I mean you think about, you know how the artwork was used. Back then it wasn't collectible, it was just really more of a promotional material. But it is how it is. It was advertised.
Speaker 1:That's all it was. I mean. Now, luckily, you know, a lot of touring bands kind of woke up to this can be another viable thing at our merch booth. That's a special thing for one night, because these posters are way too nice. You're not gonna put these up on the streets, no, um plus plus. You know the way that the world is now, um, nobody advertises on street poles anymore, it's all internet based. So, uh, the bands that really love doing the artwork and and having these one-off, you know, per per night, special items, um have kept sort of the concert poster, um industry going so and in turn have allowed us artists to to keep working as well. So it's great.
Speaker 2:No, it is great. I mean it's interesting too. We did, um, I've I've done history of a lot of, you know, posters and things of that nature and the trajectory of like concert posters in general from that 2004 to 2005 mark like market. Really, I mean, if you look at like everything from that, that point of how it all changed when it was, you know just basically there was, there was posters at shows previously, but but it really changed drastically in that 2004. I mean, doing my homework, 2004 to 2005, market is what I saw and it's just crazy, the cost and association.
Speaker 2:I mean you know, I mean you can't see my room right now but I'm literally in my studio and I have 65 concert posters framed up on the wall. I mean my basement. I mean it's insane and it's such an expensive hobby. But it's one of those things that I've always said. You know, when you look at these posters and these screen prints, it brings you back to that day and everything leading up to it. It's almost like encapsulates the memory of that show and there's so much to it and it's cool. I mean, you know I love T-shirts and stuff, but the posters I just feel like you look at it and it just brings back and encapsulates memories and it's cool to tie in the artist's vision of what that poster is supposed to be with the day of the show and everything, and it's really, it's a cool thing to tie together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and obviously the nice thing is they're limited editions too and they're numbered. And you know, sometimes, depending on where the posters are being done, they're numbered and you know, and sometimes, depending on, depending on where the posters are being done, they're signed by the artists for the show or you can get artist editions afterwards. And you know t-shirts who knows how many t-shirts they make? And, yeah, you don't know. You know that t-shirt. You know you may not keep that t-shirt all your life, but you may keep that poster all your life, you know, um yeah, it's a special item.
Speaker 1:I think it brings back, like you said, a souvenir of that night, a special memory, and uh, um, yeah, I think it's a special item. I think it brings back, like you said, a souvenir of that night, a special memory, and, yeah, I think it's just a great addition. And, you know, bands need more money at the shows than ever because of, you know, the way record sales are.
Speaker 2:So I think this just helps the bands as well. So everyone wins. Yeah, it is, it is, it is interesting, it is, I love it. I mean the three nights we did Jack White you know me being, you know I'm a Pearl Jam fan first for sure. Like Pearl Jam has always been my number one, jack White definitely my more in Jack. What was that?
Speaker 1:There's still a bucket list, one for me. I'd love to do one oh.
Speaker 2:God. Well, you know what you got to get in touch for, mr T-shirt. You just got to send.
Speaker 1:Chris a message. I know we go back and forth, but he books so early in advance, like before the tours are even announced, kind of thing.
Speaker 2:It is, chris. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later. It's going to work out. I mean, I saw you did the Pixies and I know that's up his, that's a Mr T-shirt special, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was one for the promotion specifically back then.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, further out yet no, it's Pearl jam's always been. I mean, that's what 90% of my concert poster memorabilia is, is definitely Pearl jam. But you know I was. It was interesting to see how, you know, the evolution of posters evolved. I mean, you know I was first six in line, first 12 in line, all three nights. We waited to get a rail for all these three shows, which was an experience. But it was amazing to me that some of the people that were earlier in line were not even there just for rail. They were really there to make sure they grabbed the poster and it's the.
Speaker 2:There's always the day of of, like, you know you're waiting for the artist to drop what the post is going to look like and then you get to talk about in line and you know Omaha was definitely it was. There was a lot of people talking about it and they, you know, and it was interesting because the night before they had the cat with the rat in its mouth, which I'm going to ask about the whole, the whole rat, and then this night had the rat on. You know, being held was all this and then, with the songs, you know, of course, having um, the rat theme and the and the new note and the no name album. It was interesting. So I have questions, um, about the, uh, the poster.
Speaker 2:If you're willing to dive down first, one is so, and I'm not sure what happened, but I did notice that all of the posters had like the black tape on it. When we were it was gonna break, you were gonna all right. So there was a lot of of questions because nobody knew what was going on. Everyone's like hey, there's a black piece of tape on the poster and no one's like we're not pulling this off, we don't want to ruin the poster. What happened?
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, to be honest, that was not my doing and I got an email at 630 on Saturday, like the night of the show, Basically the info I got, this book, the tour was booked last fall and I think the initial show was going to be at the Astro, which is another venue in Omaha, and and so when I was asked if I could do this poster because I just had done three posters for him in Toronto, the first shows of the year so Third man came back to me and asked me if I can do, I had a choice between the last three cities you visited, actually, and I chose Omaha just because it was the last one on the date and it just gave me a little bit more time to do the poster because it was a quick turnaround.
Speaker 1:But they sent me the info as it being the Astro, so it went to press as the Astro and I think two people at Third man take care of curating the posters and Jack White approves everything. He approves the concept sketches, which is great. It's nice to know when the artists are deeply involved, because sometimes you're only working with merge companies.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So I think what happened is is they forwarded me the the those block of dates and it might have been just a simple cut and paste from Excel from last fall and no one noticed from Excel from last fall and no one noticed. And I think the people at third man didn't notice. The venue was not the steel house till it was too late, unfortunately. So my AP copies will have steel house on them. Nice, properly. We'll be sending new files on Monday, so I should have those next week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's why the posters were a little cheaper at the show. They were 60. They usually go for 80. Okay, they felt horrible, but the posters were done and delivered and they still wanted to have people have the chance to get a poster right. Sure, it's just one of those things. It fell through the cracks. Sarah and Ro at third man are awesome and they probably just got overwhelmed and just didn't notice. Um, because you know they have an entire two-month tour of poster booking to do and it's just just human error. You know it happens. What are you going to do? You know it's unfortunate, but at least um, at least the date is right in the city yeah, and it makes for a fun story.
Speaker 1:I mean, it was, it was yeah, yeah it's an interesting yeah sorry yeah, I had a couple people email me about that going what was up, and then someone told me about there was a reddit thread going on about what was happening, but I think those posters got literally fixed the afternoon of the show because of it, so oh, it was.
Speaker 2:There was a lot. There was a lot of um, there was definitely a lot of chatter of like what people assumed, and you know everybody has their own opinions and assumptions and who who knows? Yeah, so you know it. First of all, I love the fact that jack is heavily, uh, involved in the ideas and and the approval process of things, because I do love the fact that an artist who is creating their own style art is involved in the art of what's being portrayed for them at the show, which is pretty awesome. So you were saying this is a pretty quick turnaround. How much information did you get to get this poster put together? How soon was it?
Speaker 1:About, I guess, three and a half weeks. Oh wow, maybe just under a month, but you got to give, like you need to give at least two weeks. Um, it depends on the printer sometimes, but you need to give the printer at least two weeks to print, turn around and ship them. So, uh, it was a pretty quick one, but I mean, that's sort of the you know, that's sort of the nature of these things sometimes. Um, they came to me for the toronto ones pretty late in the game as well and you just sort of you agree to it and you just grind it out. You know, like that's just the way it is. Um, you hope your concept gets approved quickly enough.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I'll jump the gun and think, yeah, this is good enough, I'm going to start it, even though they haven't improved it. And when I do that, usually I'm right, and I did that for this one just to get a little time. Because I hand draw everything, okay, and, as you can see, my stuff is a little ornate and detailed. It's just the way I like to work. So, yeah, I draw everything by hand and then I scan it to the computer and then I do all the colors in the computer and most of the typography. So I personally take more time. So I usually spend more time because of sort of the aesthetic that I'm drawn to and the reason why people come to me for a poster is, I guess, they want it to look like one of my posters.
Speaker 1:Well, that's awesome Two weeks from paper to delivery and then two weeks to print it. And how many hours do you think you have into this? I get asked a lot. I should really start writing down how much time I sort of lose track. Usually it's not like crazy long days Like I'll. You know, I'll put in a full day, go out for a walk, get some air clear my head, have some dinner, and then, if I need to, I'll go back to it that night. That's seven days a week until it's done.
Speaker 1:So there's no really sort of right off weekends. But that's freelance life, right. So the weekend after that or the week after that I'm not going to be so busy. So you sort of have to take it when it comes in. If you've said yes and commit and I've never not delivered, so as hard as it may be on me physically and and you know just creatively, you know you you get sort of you know how it is, you get creatively exhausted just from being focused all day, and then you sort of pull away and you're just sort of like, even though you haven't physically moved, your brain is, is, is, is tired enough to make you feel like you've run. You've run all day, basically.
Speaker 2:So no, I, I totally, I totally understand that. Now, pat. The one thing I love the way I say I said it's way too many times the one thing I love I love a lot of things, but when it comes to art, I like the idea of like the creative process, like what was coming to mind, how, what, what was the process in putting this idea to paper and the details. Now, when you get the information for this tour because I know that in past tours I think you know they're more particular about certain maybe imagery and and bands are like hey, we want to do this theme for this tour, stay away from this, these colors I'm pretty sure you had maybe some limitations of what you can do or can't do is when you're given that like, how did you come up with this entire concept and what? I guess what was given to you that allowed you to come up with this idea?
Speaker 1:um, nothing. When I did the posters for jack in toronto in the beginning of february, this was the beginning of a new tour. So I checked in with um, my contacts at third man, and I said is there any do's and don'ts? Basically, you know, on this run and they give you a list of those like nothing dark, nothing too dark. Jack likes to stay away from Catholic imagery, you know, because it's been said about his Catholic upbringing and things like that, and so I usually just run with.
Speaker 1:I'll start with, you know, I, I'm a big fan of Jack's. Anyways, I have to be honest, not every poster I do. I'm a fan of the actual band, but I'm a fan of the process and you know. So I still enjoy the work, even though I might not listen to the band on a regular basis. But I think Jack White is a pretty special performer out there and I've been a fan for a long time since the white stripe. So, um, I always enjoy working and I, I, I always sort of I look at the song titles. I'll read lyrics just to see what, what hits me. Um, and you know a lot, you know this one, you know, for, for the toronto posters, I, I, I bounced off what's the Rumpus?
Speaker 2:I don't know if you saw the Toronto posters that I did, yeah, the three right With the investigators, with the, you had the record player, then you had the cats coming up the stairs. Yeah, I saw all three. That was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and basically yeah by the third poster was the third man. So there was all sort of little hidden things in there. And jack is loves things in threes because he's jack white, the third, so there's always elements of three. So in those posters it was everything was coming in threes for each poster. Oh, that's pretty clever. Yeah, for this one, I, I, I went off it's rough on rats um, because I thought just visually it was something I could bounce off.
Speaker 1:And then my posters are also influenced by what I'm doing or what I'm reading or what I'm watching, and I had been watching a lot of silent film over a couple of weeks before I got asked about the poster, weeks before before the the poster got in. You know, I got asked about the poster so I was sort of drawn to these, these actresses from that time period with these big circled eyes for makeup, and I know jack has an aesthetic towards that. Sometimes he'll just post these random things on his instagram with no explanation. Yeah, so you get a sense of because I think his, his social media is handled partly by him and partly by his team. So when you get things like that, you get a sense of because I think his social media is handled partly by him and partly by his team. So when you get things like that, you kind of sense that it's him posting something. So I kind of just work towards what would Jack, like you know, and then it didn't work out for this poster, but sometimes for my posters I also look at the city itself and see if there's anything I can dig out Visually interesting.
Speaker 1:Nothing against the people of Omaha, but I couldn't find anything I could really walk into visually. So I went with a more striking image of that figure and the rats, rats and there being three rats because of the three. So I wanted something a little bit more striking and a little bit more simpler than the poster I did in February just to change it up. Um, so that's that. That was basically the story behind that. So, um, well, I can tell you my life influence of what's going on with me.
Speaker 2:So that's awesome. Well, I can tell you from uh my I'd never been to Omaha before until, uh, this past uh trip. Um, I don't know if it would have been anything you could have added to the poster from Omaha.
Speaker 1:I know I tried, but you know I was. I was short on time and I got to bang this out.
Speaker 2:No, it was. It was an interesting place. It was. I didn't know what to expect going into it because I mean, I've never, you know, it wasn't like Omaha Nebraska is a vacation destination. I've never, you know, it wasn't like Omaha Nebraska is a vacation destination. Where are you from? I'm from Kansas City, so we're out of the Kansas City market, but I'm originally from Boston, massachusetts, so Omaha Nebraska is not like you know. Hey, we're going to go vacation in Omaha, but I will tell you this, the hotel we stayed at was amazing. But I will tell you this, the hotel we stayed at was amazing. The people there were absolutely grateful and super nice and a lot of vintage and a lot of great food.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it's a cool place. Yeah, they probably don't get a lot of shows, who knows?
Speaker 2:Interestingly enough, the venue we went to was brand new. So thehouse which is it was only open for two years where he played the sound was done really well. He really took over the stage. It was an interesting place. It was a really unique show altogether. I'm definitely breaking that down a lot in this episode.
Speaker 2:I saw three different versions of Jack over three days in St Louis, kansas City and Omaha. It's just, this was, this was. I saw three different versions of Jack over three days in St Louis, kansas City and Omaha and it was just. It was interesting to see how different he was, personality and everything it was. It was a great experience and you know, omaha is always gonna be close to my heart. That was.
Speaker 2:I took my daughter to that show and she got to meet Jack. We were and we ended up staying at the same hotel and just kind of worked out. So, you know, super grateful for that. But yeah, no, it's all good. So I ordered the poster from you, so that is going to be going up in the house with my daughter, so I can't wait to put those two together. But yeah, it was great and it's cool and this show is definitely going to be close to my heart. So having this poster with his artwork and being able to look back at those memories of like being on the rail with two good friends of mine and my daughter, and then, like after the show, her meeting Jack White, and just this picture of my daughter like smiling ear to ear, just because you know, I mean the odds of meeting him, and then also I mean I've met him in the past with my son, but meeting him and just him being this genuinely nice person you know it was, it was, it was pretty awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny, I, I, this is my I'm going to say my fourth poster for him and I did done two for the rec on tours. I've never met him. No, it's just one of those things. Like I said, I deal with third man on these, so there's just hasn't been a, there hasn't been a, an opportunity to meet him. And then on this tour, unfortunately he didn't come to Montreal, so he only did three nights in Toronto and I couldn't get out to there in time so I was too busy. But I've heard great things. I saw him on his last tour, okay, and I've seen him quite a few times before that.
Speaker 2:But I love that he works with no set lists and he just kind of is going to give you the show that he feels he's getting back from the crowd, which is amazing it is and I will say that, like the, the one thing I loved about this tour that I felt was different than the last tour was, you know, you have his drummer from the racnators on in this tour and he is so in tune with jack, like he's just waiting to find out what, what he's gonna play, and he is I've never. I don't know if there's ever a time that he ever looks into the crowd because he's so locked on to jack and like what he's doing and how to get these jams. And it's such a tight. The band is so tight it was. It was such it's such a good experience and I mean it's it's so well worth the money. You don't have artists that that do what he does nowadays.
Speaker 1:It's just so rare and I yeah, I've watched the footage from this tour and it looks amazing and I wish I had a chance to see it. But you have to really admire him. He's built his own little empire, you know, and he's gone out on this tour and he's driving himself and his bandmates in a van and, you know, I'm sure there's an equipment truck following them. He's not doing the tour bus thing on this tour. He's playing smaller venues. He's offering $20 student tickets at every show, starting at like 5 or 6 pm. He's really like he's a special performer, you know. He's really giving all he has and I don't think he takes advantage of his audience at all. I think that's why he's still super relevant. Plus, he's an amazing guitarist and a great songwriter I don't know what else to say. I think he's a beacon of a good guy in what can be a pretty shitty music business. Sometimes he does take advantage of people.
Speaker 2:I got two more questions for you. The first one is the White Stripes are up for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. Do you think this is the year they get in?
Speaker 1:I hope so they should. I don't see why they wouldn't, but who knows? I don't follow that stuff too closely, but they definitely deserve to deserve it.
Speaker 2:So I agree with you and it's interesting because I think that there's two versions of Jack White. There's the White Stripes and then there's Jack White solo and I think that on both those merits alone, you can see him get in twice. I mean just the. The one of the greatest things, one of the greatest parts of an interview that I read recently about jack white. He talked about, um, you know, the seven nation army and like I guess they went to I don't know a baseball game with, like conan o'brien and a couple other people and seven nation army came on and he just sat there and like, just watched, and like I think it was conan o'brien was like man, that's your song. He's like nah, it's not my song really anymore.
Speaker 1:It's bigger than me, it's all I know and that song gets played at every sports arena. Now it's crazy, it is, it's insane. You know, being a good canadian, I watch a lot of hockey and, uh, you can hear it being played quite often. Um, yeah, and I read some some, you know some stuff on reddit about the Omaha show that people were really disappointed that he didn't play it, but that's how it goes.
Speaker 2:It's just not happening every night. Well, there was an interview, I think, last year that Jack White had said that he envisioned that there's a show that he only wants to play his solo, like his no-white-striped stuff, go on the stage, not say a word and leave. That was a dream of his. It's in an article and that's what he did that show he came on, he came on stage.
Speaker 2:He didn't say a word. He never acknowledged the audience. He never got the audience involved in any of the songs he never. There was the first show he's ever performed that he didn't play a white stripe song in ever. He played the show, he did the show and he walked off. And he, he didn't play a White Stripes song in ever. He played the show, he did the show and he walked off. And he didn't even introduce the band. Never once said Omaha Nebraska nothing. He did what he did and he walked off.
Speaker 2:Very businesslike, in a way that I've never seen before, and it was different and it was like I said, every show I saw for three nights in a row of traveling was different and this one was a very business Jack White and, um, it was, it was something, it was, it was, it was, it was done really well, it was different. No white stripes. I felt bad for my daughter who was looking forward to hearing some white stripes, but you know, I said you know it's, you can't get everything and then you know 45 minutes later she was Jack White. So I mean you can't complain.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no for sure. Do you think that was a reaction to the crowd's reaction? I don't know.
Speaker 2:So the crowd was in Omaha. So I'm on the rail and I can only go by like what the like in front of me and a little bit behind me, I would say that this was probably the one crowd that wasn't the loudest and it wasn't the most enthusiastic of the three. Kansas City for me, which was the show of all three, which is probably out of all the 15 Jack White shows I've seen, that was the best show I've ever seen of his. I mean, he was just smiling. He did Doorbell without a guitar in front of him. He sang it just on a mic.
Speaker 2:I've never seen him before without a guitar in front of him. Yeah, it was crazy. And he was talking about how much he loved Kansas City. It was just a different version. And then St Louis was like a mixture of both, like the crowds were popping for some songs and not so much for others, and like he was. He talked but he wasn't as much. So maybe that's why he was the way he was, or maybe this was just him, you know he's in a funny position as well.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, like you know, when you're, when you're known for one certain song, and that's you know, some people just go out cause they want to hear that one song and they're just sitting around waiting for it. When it doesn't come, they're disappointed. You know, um, but Jesus, that's you know, that's. That song is about 20 years old now.
Speaker 2:Crazy. I know, really it makes my back hurt a little bit when I think of that. Um, but yeah, it's it, but his, his. I still was in the amount of music he played that night and the way he ran through it. It was done so well and I mean it's just, that's just him. I mean it's. He is a true performer. I kind of you know, I was talking to somebody about his performance and his style of playing and the way he performs and stuff, and he's kind of like a modern rock and roll elvis in a way, like more like the way he performs and his control and everything. It's just, it's, it is done so well. So I'm, I'm really excited, um, and then uh, last question, uh, for you is I know that you've done a lot of uh shows. What is the one show, one band, that you haven't done yet that you want to make a poster for?
Speaker 1:Current band. I can't really think Some of the bigger players it's fun to work for but it's not stuff I really listen to. Like Dave Matthews, but it's not stuff I really listen to. Like Dave Matthews It'd be nice to throw my hat in the ring for a poster of his at some point. I don't know, I think I've done pretty good. I got to do the Foo Fighters a couple of years ago, which was nice. I'm a big fan of the Queens of the Stone Age thing. I got to do that. I don't know. Some of the stuff I like is the smaller stuff that doesn't really do posters as well as much. So I don't know if I really have a definite answer for it. Okay, I wish I could give you a better. I really want to do this but I can't really. Yeah, because, yeah, some of the stuff that I'm into currently they don't do posters anyway, so it doesn't matter. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope that if I mean as many Pearl Jam shows as I go to, that maybe one day we'll get a Pat Hamu Pearl Jam poster.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that would be great. So you know, hopefully that'll happen. It looks like I'm doing my first Billy Strings poster. Nice, good for you. I'm working on that. So that's one of the ones, just because it's another artist who really loves posters and poster design and is involved as well. So that'll be my first time working with him and his team. So so that'll be fun. So I'm kind of playing with ideas right now and I've got a couple of things percolating.
Speaker 2:So Well, that's, that's awesome. Well, pat. First I want to say thank you so much for coming on tonight, definitely give. Pat a look online. If you're on Instagram, check out Pat Hamou. It's P-A-T-H-A-M-O-U, or you can go to his website, where they still, as of today, have some copies of the Omaha poster. You can go to wwwpatsquarespacecom and get that poster. So, pat, once again, thank you so much for coming on and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure All right, thanks, so much Thanks.
Speaker 2:Anthony.
Speaker 1:No problem, fuck a lot. So you got to be chill. So you got to be chill. I look at the clock. I look at the crack of the door.