JACK WHITE, Willy Moon @Academy Birmingham 7/11/12

Sometimes, you feel a bit out of the loop. Take the fella who races up to RTM before this gig and excitedly says: “I can’t believe Willy Moon is supporting tonight.”

RTM’s blank look alerts him to the fact we have never heard of Mr. Moon so he almost pleads with us: “Willy Moon!” he exclaims. ”He was amazing on Jools Holland…? The iPod advert song….?” To extricate myself from this conversation – which took place in the toilets of the Academy (not a place any bloke should chat in) I say “yeah, never heard of him, mate. Still I will check him out. Have a good one.”

Such is the way when popular culture and RTM mixes, but here we are, on the back of the fact we liked the White Stripes (a lot actually) and like Jack White’s solo effort “Blunderbuss” from earlier in the year. To get there however, we have to watch the aforementioned Moon and his band.

Amazingly, we do recognise his first song. It is a cover of “I’m Shakin’” but that is it really. He has a lady on guitar, another on drums and a chap on what he describes as “the ones and twos” (a mixer to you and me) and to be fair to him he isn’t too bad in a Beck type of way. He does the iPod song (called “Yeah Yeah” according to wiki) and is ok, although frankly we can’t see why we would ever see him again.

There is an inordinate delay before Jack White and his band hit the stage. Initially it did look like it might be an exercise in style over substance as the stage is covered in white sheeting and roadies, dressed in sharp suits, have asked us not to take pictures. But in fairness once White is in front of us, it is very much a conventional rock and roll show.

White does appear stuck in a halfway house. Now a slow artist, he plays more White Stripes songs in his 90 minute set than solo songs. Indeed, proceedings kick off with one of them in “Black Math.” That is followed by a trio of “Blunderbuss” tunes, with “Missing Pieces” the pick, before a rollicking “Hotel Yorba” takes things up a notch.

The singer does seem to be enjoying himself, though, playing guitar with gusto and also keyboards and piano on more than one occasion and you can’t help but reflect that in years gone by he might have been a wizened old bluesman – a fact he seems to acknowledge by playing “You Know That I Know,” an old Hank Williams song he re-worked for a project.

The encore brings with it a raft more White Stripes songs, with “Hardest Button To Button” and “You Got In Your Pocket” amongst them, before that riff for “Seven Nation Army” brings things to a close.

Largely it was an interesting show, and White is a compelling live performer, but one who, you sense, is still trying to decide what he wants this part of his career to be.