Jack White at SXSW: Rocks Third Man Records Show, Inspires Bill Murray

The Third Man Records SXSW show, in brief: Jack White was awesome and Bill Murray was there. So that was kind of fun.

Before we get into that, here's a rundown of all the other amazingness that took place at The Stage. After Aussie singer Lanie Lane performed outside, John C. Reilly and his band took the main stage to play a set of old-school country tracks. To get the crowd hyped up, he started it off with a knock-knock joke:

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Smell mop."
"Smell mop who?"

"That's it. I just got you to say smell my pooh."

As John told me later in the night, when I awkwardly said hello to him outside, he learned that joke from his kids. As a country musician, though, he's legit. He has an old-school sound and knows how to work a room, joking that he didn't need to have his monitor vocals up so loud despite his actor's ego, then playing to the fans who were lined up outside. My only complaint would be that he was too quiet, allowing for a lot of the sound to be drowned out by everyone talking. Yep, people at SXSW really don't shut up during bands, even for someone as amazing as John.

Outside, Black Belles and friend of the site Pujol performed back to back. Black Belles, who did an interview with us that we'll post soon, had just flown into town and got right into the swing of things, kicking out a captivating set of their gothy garage rock. Pujol, whose frontman Daniel Pujol may start writing for us (fingers crossed), turned in a fiery performance, playing tracks off their excellent EP 'Nasty, Brutish and Short,' as well as new songs from their upcoming debut full-length, 'United States of Being.' Really, just get involved now, because these guys are phenomenal.

Because of those sets, I missed almost all of Karen Elson's set, but what I did hear was impressive. After her set ended, there was a lengthy delay, and some dude got on the microphone to remind everyone in the crowd that they were forbidden from taking pictures, and that any smartphone camera they saw would result in the user getting tossed. The reasoning was solid, though -- they wanted us to pay attention, and not having every other person holding up their phone during a show was a nice change.

So, to the main event. Backed by the all-female band that was on 'SNL' with him, White kicked into 'Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground,' with Ruby Amanfu adding a soulful edge to the White Stripes hit. As I geekily said to legendary journalist David Fricke, who happened to be standing right next to me as we scribbled notes, I think she's going to be big. (I also asked him to phone in his review, just so this doesn't get completely overshadowed.)

After some new songs from 'Blunderbuss,' White went back to his White Stripes repertoire with 'Hotel Yorba,' the fiddle and upright bass giving it a Southern juke-joint feel. As the set went on, White's vocals got increasingly warbly. Maybe it's his Nashville residency, or maybe it's his work with Loretta Lynn and Wanda Jackson, but the man is really going country, in all the right ways.

Even the new songs sound familiar, which is an odd feeling. I've heard the songs he did on 'SNL' and streamed the new ones on YouTube a few times, but I'm really unfamiliar with all the 'Blunderbuss' tracks. And yet, somehow, it seemed like I already knew the riffs and the words.

The first set closed out with 'I'm Slowly Turning Into You,' the band giving it a gospel edge that fits the White Stripes material so well. It was at that point that I saw Bill Murray for the first time, and the crowd buzz was ridiculous. Our friends at Huffington Post Comedy have been doing a Murray Watch all week, trying to find him without even confirming that he was in Austin. They just knew he'd be here. And being in the man's presence is about as cool as it gets for a geek like me.

Anyway. After an intermission, White returned with his all-male band, and seemingly had the sound guy turn everything up. Early highlights of the set included 'My Doorbell,' 'Hello Operator' and 'Two Against One,' his track with Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi from the Rome project. Unlike the first set, Jack really ripped it up on his guitar, with extended solos and heavy drawn-out intros to most of the songs. He also sprinkled in the Raconteurs' 'Steady as She Goes' and Dead Weather's 'I Cut Like a Buffalo.' Unlike his stints in both those bands, he's not shy about digging into his whole catalog.

The end? 'Seven Nation Army,' with an ear-splitting solo, and then a sing-along of 'Goodnight Irene.' At this point, Bill Murray was standing on the bar, yelling along, and people were blatantly snapping photos of him while a venue worker ran around screaming at people but unable to quash everyone's "I know this is the last song so screw it" attitudes.

My thoughts then went straight to a line that John C. Reilly delivered in 'Cedar Rapids': "I"m having a perfect moment."

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