White Stripes in Edmonton?

After a slew of hoax tour dates for their upcoming album Icky Thump, there were further developments today as the band sent out their newsletter that included the following tidbit:

"In fact, The White Stripes have yet to confirm their North American routing as of yet. But we are happy to say that it will include all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada, as well as the remaining 16 states of the United States the band have yet to play. A few major markets that have been journeyed to in the past will be also be included."

An article in today's Edmonton Journal thinks ol' Jack & Meg are having a joke at the expense of Canadians (their argument being that even the White Stripes wouldn't venture all the way up to Nunavut). And yet it wouldn't shock me in the least if they did decide to be one of, if not the first, rock band to tour the Canadian territories. Despite mentioning the hoax dates, the article still ends by laughingly pointing to Vancouver tour dates on August 7th and 8th.

Hey, I went to both those shows two years ago and they were THE two best concerts I have ever been to! In fact, looking back, August 11th, 2005 was the day this very blog started with (what else?) a White Stripes post. It's a little creepy and embarassing to look back at those tentative first few posts. Creepy in a listening-to-a-recording-of-yourself sort of way and embarassing since I haven't changed much since then, though I have gained about 3000 covers. I was living in Vancouver for a couple months at the time and I remember sending this crude drawing to taunt friends back home in Edmonton:

The White Stripes - Death Letter (Live Aug. 7, 2005 - Vancouver, BC)
[originally by Son House]

The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit (Live Aug. 8, 2005 - Vancouver, BC)
These hardly capture the energy and excitement of these epic shows, but I still think it's cool to have a recording of them. As evidenced in the past few years, I think professionally recorded discs of the concert you just went to are probably among the best souvenirs one could get. I still get flashbacks when I go back and listen to the Pixies and Who Edmonton gigs. The technology's there, I hope more and more bands jump aboard. I know The Raconteurs did it on some of their gigs last year, so it wouldn't be stretch to hear a White Stripes Canadian tour set down the line, eh? I'd be all over that! Here's hoping for a tour announcement soon so I can start packing for a concert roadtrip.

The Raconteurs - Bang Bang (Live At Wolverhampton Civic Hall - 24/10/06)
[originally performed by Cher]
The Raconteurs - It Ain't Easy (Live on BBC Radio 2) [originally by David Bowie]

KT Tunstall - My Doorbell
Jack Johnson - My Doorbell
The Dresden Dolls - My Doorbell [via]

I generally hate the Pickin' On albums which churn out bluegrass covers in a little factory somewhere, but I think the White Stripes material lends itself very nicely to bluegrass makeovers and someone did a good job with these ones. Check out Jack White's contributions to the Cold Mountain soundtrack for some similar sounding material from the man himself.
Banjo Army for a Bluegrass Nation - It's True That We Love One Another
Banjo Army for a Bluegrass Nation - Fell in Love With a Girl
Jack White - Sittin' on Top of the World

By the way, check out Frunoflckr for that missing Tino Casal cover of Life on Mars?. My Spanish is a bit rusty (as in non-existent) and if Babelfish is to be trusted, which is doubtful, then "The uncle is Fongolia."

Thanks, Fruno! :)