Can the White Stripes Make Country Cool? Again?

True or false: It's not every day that some of the biggest indie rock stars around decide to pay tribute to their country roots. If you are referring to the White Stripes at this current juncture, that statement would be false. The Stripes, who have dedicated previous albums to such greats as Loretta Lynn, have finally gone all out and, for the New York stop of their current tour, even had Ms. Lynn open for them. It is a rare sight to see hundreds of kids who probably grew up claiming that they liked all kinds of music but country giving it up for "America's Sweetheart, the Queen of Country Music ... Ms. Loretta Lynn!" as she was described at least twice during the course of the evening.

Of course, anyone who has been paying enough attention to the band's musical influences would have been able to see this coming. The White Stripes have always played up their old-time, rustic roots, and even covered one of Ms. Lynn's songs on an earlier album. This still does not quite prepare an audience to see Jack White, Detroit rocker, dressed in a skintight red cowboy outfit (with white fringe and trim, naturally) smiling maniacally while singing along with an elderly country singer who claims to have invited him to her house for chicken and dumplings and homemade bread. Then again, I'm not sure anything could have adequately prepared anyone for that.

Aside from the inherent novelty of seeing Ms. Lynn and the White Stripes together, both played rather short and unremarkable sets in funny clothing, with Ms. Lynn wearing a very sparkly white wedding-type dress, and Meg and Jack White dressed in similar red and white country outfits. When he turned around onstage, Jack's pants were tight enough to make Amy Phillips, star music reporter, exclaim, "That's quite an ass right there!" Although few others were privileged enough to hear this, I now broadcast it for your enjoyment.

The between-set entertainment consisted of old black-and-white Bettie Boop cartoons, which were totally absurd but yet somehow seemed to fit the mood of this strange show, which seemed as preoccupied with mythic American heritages as did the music at hand. The crowd didn't seem to mind, though, and seemed in good spirits except when the White Stripes took too long to take the stage, at which point poor Betty became the subject of some derision from the more vocal members of the audience. All in all, though, the White Stripes proved that it is possible for only two people to rock a large crowd, and that, if properly packaged, even New York audiences can come to love the Queen of Country Music.