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After all, White is someone who commands your attention. Bathed in lights of blue and white and flanked by three vertical video screens, he and his stellar four-piece band attacked the stage at the 68-year-old barn with precision and aplomb. Over And Over And Over from this year’s Boarding House Reach album screamed out at the rowdy throng near the front of the stage, while a stunning interpretation When I Hear My Name, the title cut of Lazaretto and, later, Interruption (from 2012’s Blunderbuss solo outing) maintained the ebb and flow which would colour the next two hours.

“Are you with me, Calgary?” White demanded rather than asked, early in the show. Uh, they were, as he and the band quickly launched into Corporation from the new-ish album.

Getting back to the point of challenging his fans and taking risks during such a process . . . it’s truly what sets White apart from his 2000’s alterna-rock contemporaries. He’s the real deal and he kept the bouncing masses guessing through a set which drew heavily on his solo career and White Stripes material with just the right smattering of Raconteurs (but no Dead Weather).

Hotel Yorba and Icky Thump were White Stripes thrills, while the title cut of Blunderbuss and Sixteen Saltines more surprises. And so it went. Riff after riff (and numerous guitar changes) showcased one of last true remaining rock stars, and someone we can count on album in and album out.

An encore which included stunning interpretations of The Raconteurs’ Steady As She Goes and The Stripes’ Seven Nation Army sent them to the exits buzzing about the 100 per cent human experience they just witnessed and participated in.

Nice, that. And, come to think of it, wasn’t that what a live music experience was always meant to be?

Opening the show was blazing Oshawa, Ontario psyche-rock duo, Crown Lands.

The ultra-hairy, multi-tasking twosome of Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau left no ear drum un-bludgeoned through its 30-minte set of blues-tinged heavy rock. Crushing bursts such as Being Right, Hard Times, Leatherman’s Blues and a blistering cover of Zeppelin’s Kashmir made Crown Lands only the first pleasant surprise of the evening.