Remember When The White Stripes Played at Jay’s Upstairs?

Imagine seeing a 24-year-old Jack White and a 25-year-old Meg White rocking faces in front of a giant banner advertising $1.25 pints of PBR during Happy Hour at Jay's Upstairs, right here in Missoula. It's not urban legend, it actually happened on June 15 of 2000.

I didn't see it with my own eyes so I never really knew if it was a true story, until I found the YouTube video below. During the summer of 2020, The White Stripes had been a band for about 3 years, and I was just moving back to town to take over The Blaze, and I missed the show. As you can see, that is definitely Meg White, and even though Jack's head looks a bit different than it does now, his voice, guitar work, and body movements are unmistakable, that's definitely Jack White. (Just incase there was any doubt that this incredible duo really played Jay's.)

Meg White is a powerhouse, she never got the credit she deserved, in my opinion. I think it's because Jack is so larger than life talented, that she kind of let him produce his creative visions and stayed in the, literal, background. On stage for The White Stripes, sometimes she looked bored, or appeared to not be as accomplished as she is, and there she would be, with her little drum kit. But she is really so skilled and gifted, just listen to the song "My Doorbell," she's a freakin' badass.

Anyway, The White Stripes playing Jay's Upstairs is just another in a long list of shows I regret missing during the only 3 years I ever left Missoula, see them performing "Death Letter" in a YouTube video posted on the official White Stripes channel below.