The White Stripes Across Canada: Halifax

Spin a White Stripes record and you get some sweet music. But seeing the band up close and personal is a completely different experience — something of a sugar rush, if you will.

Indeed, just like the peppermint-candy decor on Meg White's drums and the incessant beat she generates, the concert held Friday night inside an old cargo shed on Halifax's breathtaking waterfront was nothing short of hypnotizing.

Although most missed out on the secret show earlier in the day, a few thousand ticket holders filled the Cunard Centre — a venue that doesn't usually host concerts — for the full deal. The long, narrow building was split off into two sections, allowing drinkers to watch from the back and both under-agers and non-boozers to congregate as close to the stage as they could get without pissing off security.

Meg and Jack White emerged at dusk, kicking off a glitzy show with "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground" and "Icky Thump" as ships bopped in the pier right outside the building's large windows. Although the venue was picturesque and nice in theory, the general admission set-up made it difficult for the vertically challenged to get a good view of the singer/guitarist and drummer.

Enjoying the band became especially difficult due to a few drunken teens who couldn't stand up and the odd shoving match that broke out in the booze-and-sweat filled front section. Older audience members didn't seem impressed when rebellious youths tried turning the place into a mosh pit or pulled out a bottle of Captain Morgan's they managed to smuggle past the front doors.

To 15-year-old Andrea Gigeroff and 16-year-old Zoe Doucette, both of Dartmouth, putting up with some rambunctious shenanigans was more than worth it.

"I think it's the greatest music right now; they're the best band of our time," said Gigeroff, whose hair was dyed bright red, a fashion move she swore was "just a coincidence."

"They have integrity," Doucette said of why the Stripes appeal to her musical tastes, as opening act Dan Sartain played a short set of funky punk songs in the background. "They have a unique style."

Despite the venue's downfalls, the Detroit duo definitely didn't disappoint. Jack and Meg alone made more noise than most notoriously loud bands with more musicians. The group's minimalist approach to rock and their quirky sense of style captivated both loyal fans and curious new listeners.The electrifying set included a completely red two-tier stage, a large glowing disco ball hanging overhead and amplifiers adorned with maple leaves. Jack wore a red, black and white plaid kilt while Meg wore a traditional matching cap.

The not-so-much siblings played for an hour and 45 minutes, including an encore, covering an array of tunes from their 10-year history. While Meg banged away with unrelenting vigour, Jack owned the stage as he fiddled on the organ and played with various guitars. He dance and twirled like a madman escaped from the psych ward, even ripping his electric off his back in a rock 'n' roll rage as the show came to a close.

Hector MacQuarrie, a 22-year-old bagpiper who competes internationally, led Jack and Meg up Citadel Hill at about 3 p.m. on Friday. That role led to gigs at the Halifax concert and the 10th anniversary show on Saturday night in Glace Bay, where he got to accompany them on Icky Thump track "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn."

"I woke up Friday morning and had no idea any of this was going to happen," said MacQuarrie — who is Jack's second cousin — of being asked to share the stage with the Stripes.

"It was an amazing experience. The whole energy that those two have on stage... to be able to share that, it was unreal."

Musical magic obviously runs in this family's bloodstream. Jack is a critically acclaimed superstar and MacQuarrie came in second for his age group at a piping showdown in Scotland a few years back. Their family tree also extends to Cape Breton fiddlers Buddy MacMaster, Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac.

"I didn't know what to expect when I met them," said MacQuarrie said of meeting slick black-haired, ghostly-white faced Jack and Meg. "I was floored with how genuine and down to Earth they really are."

It took a while for MacQuarrie to express his thoughts. After his initial gig on Friday, he appeared to be in a state of shock at the surreal experience. Following Saturday's show, his family and other close relatives and friends shared a private anniversary party with Jack and Meg. But even by Sunday evening, the bagpiper admitted the intensity of his weekend with The White Stripes was just starting to sink in. Like the thousands of music fans who filed out of the Cunard Centre late Friday night and stumbled dazed and confused into the streets of Halifax, MacQuarrie seemed to be suffering from a candy-coated hangover."I still haven't come down," he said.