Watch Jack White Feel the Bern in Detroit

As we approach the full swing of the 2020 presidential election season, you can expect to see more and more campaign events from more and more candidates. Sunday, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders held a rally at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. That happens to be the alma mater of Third Man Records head honcho and former White Stripe Jack White. The event fell during a break in The Raconteurs’ extensive tour, and White rounded up a small combo of fellow Cass Tech grads (longtime cohort Dominic Davis on bass and TMR co-owner Ben Blackwell on drums) to drop in to play a short set. 

According to Rolling Stone, the performance included several White Stripes tunes as well as a couple from White’s 2018 solo LP Boarding House Reach, plus a cover of Bob Dylan’s “License to Kill.” Above, check out some fan-shot footage of the opening number: the Boarding House Reach art-funk workout “Corporation” with a segue into “Icky Thump,” the title track from the Stripes’ 2007 swan song. Both tunes include sociopolitical commentary, with references to consumer culture in “Corporation” and quotable lines about the hypocrisy of anti-immigration rhetoric in America in “Icky Thump”: “White Americans / What, nothing better to do? / Why don't you kick yourself out? / You're an immigrant too.”

Whether you’re onboard with Sanders or not, it’s still pretty cool to see White ripping for his hometown crowd and showing up for something he believes in. RS reports that White told the crowd: “Bernie Sanders is telling the truth, and I really do trust him.”

Style-inclined folks might take notice of White’s Elvis Presley-esque mutton chops in the vid — perhaps those are a harbinger of a Halloween costume to come. TMR is hosting seasonal shindigs with BbyMutha, Starcrawler and more in Detroit on Devil’s Night and in Nashville on Halloween, so it’s possible you might see what White’s costume actually is if you get to one of those gigs.

And speaking of TMR-related folks doing cool things, there’s a dance party at Little Harpeth Brewing tonight featuring DJ sets from Margo Price, Maggie Rogers, Natalie Prass and others. It starts at 7 p.m. and the $10 cover benefits Planned Parenthood — check out the Facebook event page for updates.