The White Stripes Across Canada: Winnipeg

When Jack and Meg White announced that they'd finally roll their peppermint drum kit into Winnipeg, the response was surprisingly underwhelming. Tickets didn't sell out right away and the only bubbling excitement came from true blue — well, red — fans.

Thankfully, the 6,000 Winnipeggers who did come out to the MTS Centre gave The White Stripes a warm Winnipeg welcome for their first-ever show in Manitoba's capital, and the Stripes gave us one hell of a show.

Kicking things off with an amped-up version of "Blue Orchid" from 2005's Get Behind Me Satan, the red T-shirt-clad Jack and Meg worked their pared-down, all-red stage. Jack was all over the place, rocketing through angular guitar solos while Meg quickly became everyone's pretend girlfriend with her coy smiles and cute little head bops.

It was hard to believe that such a noise could ever possibly come from such childlike people. Tearing into a set that was as sloppy as it was technical, Jack and his "big sis Meg" treated the audience to a jammed-out version of "Icky Thump" and an incendiary version of "Slowly Turning Into You."

Before strapping on the acoustic guitar to tackle "Hotel Yorba," Jack cryptically made a comment about how the duo spent their day in the 'Peg and how they "enjoyed the public transit system," a reference to an impromptu show they played on a city bus earlier in the day. Footage on YouTube shows the band performing "The Wheels On The Bus" and "Hotel Yorba" before fans excitedly shouting WTF-like statements.

That was the last we heard from the frontman for a while as he busily ripped into the rest of a frenetic set that included "Hardest Button To Button" and "I Want To Be The Boy Who Warms Your Mother's Heart." Jack also lent his characteristic howl to a haunting cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," a standout of the show.

Meg took the reigns for a demurely sexy rendition of "In The Cold, Cold Night," which was dedicated to Winnipeg and received thunderous cheers.After closing the set by unleashing the raucous riffage from De Stijl's "Death Letter," the duo returned for a break-neck encore that included "Black Math," "Little Cream Soda" and uber-hit "Seven Nation Army." By the end of the whirlwind 24-song set — which included six tunes from Icky Thump — it didn't seem possible that the Stripes had been up there for an hour and a half.

Every part of The White Stripes' strange, self-styled storybook came through in this show, from the red and white stage set up and peppermint drum faces to the sister-brother mythology and Jack's apparent obsession with Rita Hayworth (whose face is etched on the back of his white acoustic guitar). It was everything a White Stripes performance should be.

Waving the Manitoba flag at the end of the show to an audience that was still reeling, Jack promised that they'd be back as soon as they could. Hopefully, next time more people will be there to see it.