White Stripes Stream First-Ever Concert for 20th Anniversary

The White Stripes are celebrating their 20th anniversary with The First Show: Live On Bastille Day. The release documents their first performance, which took place during The Gold Dollar Detroit’s open-mic night on July 14th, 1997.

The three-track set – available to purchase and stream now – features two songs (“Jimmy the Exploder” and “St. James Infirmary”) from their debut LP, 1999’s The White Stripes, along with a cover of the Clovers’ “Love Potion No. 9.”

The First Show, recorded in soundboard quality, was previously available only as a seven-inch as part of Third Man Records’ Vault Package Number 13. Third Man will continue to celebrate the band’s two-decade anniversary with additional releases throughout 2017.

The label recently announced its 33rd Vault Package, which includes a remastered, 10th anniversary edition of the White Stripes’ final album, 2007’s Icky Thump. That vinyl-only reissue features unreleased demos, B-sides and a phonebook with unseen Polaroids from that era, among other band-related ephemera. Fans must subscribe to the Third Man Vault by July 31st to receive the Icky Thump X package. 

Last year, Jack White released Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016, which featured rare recordings, album tracks and previously unissued material spanning his career with the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and solo work. He promoted the LP with director Michel Gondry’s video for the White Stripes’ “City Lights.”