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mastered by Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering “As New Year’s Eve 2000 crested over to 2001, Jack and Meg performed a celebratory set at the Magic Stick in their hometown of Detroit. Rather than just approach the set the same off-the-cuff way they’d perfected over the previous six months of incessant touring, the band put in the effort to make the evening special. Fresh off their Australian tour dates, the band exhibited a rediscovered appreciation for the early works of AC/DC and decided to place it front and center by starting the show with intense takes on both “Let There Be Rock” and “Dog Eat Dog.” Joined by good friend Chris McInnis (They Come in Threes, PA) on bass for these two songs, it would be one of only a handful of times the Stripes would employ the four-string instrument in the live setting, creating a rock solid power trio here which is totally in service to the songs. The rest of the set is strong, with all the quintessential 2000-era highlights…”Hello Operator” with “Little Bird” and “Lord, Send Me an Angel” along with a stellar “Let’s Build a Home/Goin’ Back to Memphis” medley. All punctuated with a set-closing rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “After Hours.” Originally written by Velvets frontman Lou Reed for drummer Moe Tucker to sing, the Stripes version has Meg stepping out from behind the drum kit for the first time ever in concert, delivering her lines with all the charm and verve that fans would come to love from her later outings singing both “In the Cold, Cold Night” and “Passive Manipulation.” As with the AC/DC tracks, this would be the only time the White Stripes would ever cover “After Hours.” In a career chock-full of outstanding live performances, this gig stands out as one of the most-special and unique shows the band ever played. Available in mediocre quality on bootlegs for years (thanks to a slick fan who fished a copy out of a dumpster), this version is speed-corrected and remastered in high-quality directly from the original board tape."
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