Third Man Records detailed the 58th installment of the Vault subscription series dubbed The White Stripes – Live in Las Vegas. The collection also includes a 7-inch boasting Jack White’s 2004 sit-in with Bob Dylan on Stripes staple “Ball And Biscuit.”
The White Stripes – Live in Las Vegas documents Jack and Meg White’s September 2003 performance at the Joint at the Hard Rock Casino in Sin City. Even though Jack was recovering from a car accident and broken finger — terrifyingly on his left hand which briefly prevented him from playing a D minor chord — the band delivered a standout performance at the Hard Rock.
As a promotion for the still rising Stripes — who had released their landmark 2003 album Elephant earlier that year — “40 or so fans [were] flown out to the White Stripes show at the Joint (at the Hard Rock Casino) in Las Vegas, [to] get a meet-and-greet with the band, and then some time afterward be presented with a vinyl pressing of that evening’s show,” as per a press release.
Twenty years ago, just 100 copies were pressed at United Record Pressing in Nashville. To celebrate the Vegas concert’s 20th anniversary, Third Man Records is offering the first commercially available pressing of The White Stripes Live In Las Vegas.
The triple LP contains some interesting moments including an impromptu cover of Buddy Holly & The Crickets’ “Not Fade Away,” a scrapping of “Offend In Every Way” due to Jack’s struggle to play a D minor and a tease of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” The records also boast sizzling performances of Stripes classics including “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground,” “Seven Nation Army,” “The Hardest Button To Button” and “Ball And Biscuit.”
As an awesome bonus, the collection will come with a 7-inch featuring Jack White’s sit-in with Bob Dylan on “Ball And Biscuit” on March 17, 2004 in Jack’s hometown of Detroit at the State Theater. Third Man noted that the performance was “one of maybe two songs Dylan has covered from this century.” The flip side of the 7-inch is a White Stripes performance of “Ball And Biscuit” from London in 2002.
The collection was cut from original multitracks with complete remixing and remastering by Third Man Mastering’s Bill Skibbe in Nashville. The records were pressed at Third Man Detroit on 180-gram vinyl in the White Stripes’ familiar red, white and black color scheme. The collection features artwork from longtime Stripes collaborator and Grammy-winner Rob Jones.
To get your hands on The White Stripes – Live in Las Vegas plus the Dylan collab, subscribe to Third Man Records’ Vault program by midnight CT on October 31.
Vault Package #58: The White Stripes – Live In Las Vegas
- Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
- When I Hear My Name
- Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly)
- St. James Infirmary Blues (traditional)
- Black Math
- The Big Three Killed My Baby
- I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother’s Heart
- Death Letter (Son House)
- Take A Whiff On Me (traditional)
- In The Cold, Cold Night
- Wasting My Time
- I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Burt Bacharach / Hal David)
- Offend In Every Way (incomplete)
- The Union Forever
- Seven Nation Army
- You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket
- I Think I Smell A Rat
- Look Me Over Closely (Terry Gilkyson / Marelene Dietrich)
- Cannon
- Mary Had A Little Lamb (traditional)
- Cannon (reprise)
- Ball And Biscuit
- The Hardest Button To Button
- You’re Pretty Good Looking (For A Girl)
- Hello Operator
- We’re Going To Be Friends
- Hotel Yorba
- Fell In Love With A Girl
- Your Southern Can Is Mine (Blind Willie McTell)
- Screwdriver
- Boll Weevil (Leadbelly)
7-inch single:
- Side One: Ball And Biscuit (live March 17th, 2004) – Bob Dylan & Jack White
- Side Two: Ball And Biscuit (live May 2nd, 2002) – The White Stripes
