With Queens of the Stone Age forced to drop out of the festival for medical reasons, the mad scramble began for a replacement. Who do you get to step in for the guitar-heavy works and words of Josh Homme? Anyone, really. Jack White is quite the get for the main stage and closing out the Friday with his eclectic mix of electric guitar work could not be a better end to a long day. Where a whale was eaten, where phone service mysteriously dropped while trying to pay for a Coca-Cola. We do live the high life when covering festivals. Nothing settles the mind better than being away from the crowd, sitting on a park bench close enough to hear the set but far enough away to watch a security guard yell at people trying to jump the fence.
An inevitable mix of The White Stripes and solo works pour through this headline set, a last-minute album release with No Name created a buzz about the relationship White has with releasing music more than the music itself. Still, he serves as an interesting frontman, a man who consistently asks how the audience is feeling instead of gauging it with the response to his music. They are up for it. They always have been. Oya Festival is a fine blend of calm characters and individuals ready to lose themselves to their favourites. From a vantage point up on the popcorn-coated bench, it is clear to see the crowd losing themselves to the likes of Black Math and That’s How I’m Feeling, throwing their arms and engaging the former White Stripes frontman.
The White Stripes covers overwhelm the set, some of his proudest work can be found in them. Seven Nation Army is inevitably included, an addition which is as constant as Common People for Pulp. Removing it would be fatal. White knows it but at least has some fun with deeper cuts from his discography earlier in the set. His command of the stage comes not through his presence but through the individuality of his guitar work. The best compliment handed to White at this point is the obvious comment about his instrumental effectiveness. He is quite the guitarist. A stunning collection of instruments bring his tracks to life and overtake most of his lyrical workings. Even then, they paint a well-conceived narrative, with the likes of We’re Going to Be Friends a calmer pocket of the set to highlight his writing charms.
His return to blues punk interests on No Name can be heard in this set too. White has rekindled a love he lost over a decade ago and brings it back to the stage with a shockwave of well-timed guitar riffs and heavy instrumental tracks. They are a welcome experience. Even a cover of The Raconteurs’ Steady, As She Goes, finds its way into the set. Ultimately this is White toying with his back catalogue and finding a new sound from within. It has worked for him in the past and no doubt will work again. What he is searching for has not quite shown itself yet but when it does, we can be sure there is quality to be had – as there often is in seeing the White Stripes member perform.
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