The Stripes had never played a full tour of Canada. Following the release of their last album, "Icky Thump", the band decided to give Canada the full treatment before embarking on the typical US/Europe/Etc. touring cycle. This documentary follows them through this Candaian tour, where they played every province and territory, and ultimately proved to be the only tour they did behind that album.
This film focuses on live performances and balances between the traditional rock concert formats the Stripes played at night, and daytime performances where the Stripes played non-traditional venues like bowling allies, city buses, rec centers, etc. This juxtaposition helps show what makes the Stripes such a exciting and experimental band; they're ready and willing to play anywhere, anytime, to anyone.
Malloy does a fine job at capturing the band live on stage. The black and white photography goes a long way towards mythologizing this band. Matched with the many varieties of music The Stripes play, the B&W photography helps portray them as a band not-of-a-particular-time.
Malloy (and the Whites) keep us at an emotional distance though. By focusing mainly on the live performance, we never see the inner workings of the band, their personal life, their thoughts on anything but the music. It is just the band, the tour, and the music.
And that is what makes the final scene stand out: Jack plays a song on piano with Meg sitting beside him. As the song goes on and Jack sings; Meg sways, looks at Jack, sings along, and starts to break down into tears. This scene seems out of place because we have no context for Meg's emotions (she is portrayed in the film, and admits to being, the "quiet one" who likes it that way) outside of her role as a drummer in this band. The film makes no mention, that shortly after the film, Meg White canceled the rest of the Stripes tour dates due to anxiety issues. If there was more to the Stripes' tour; was it not captured by Malloy and his cameras? Did certain aspects end up on the cutting room floor at the request of the band? And, if yes, why was this last scene left in?
Regardless, this film captures this incredible band at an exciting stage in their career, trying something really different, in order to change a tour into an exciting adventure. The live performances are always thrilling, no matter the venue. And it is something to see the Stripes walk up on a stage, gear up, and play a "one note concert", thank the crowd, and leave. Awesome.
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