If I do a list of biggest regrets in 2008, near the top of that list will be missing Jim White as he rolled through Madison last night, playing equal parts troubadour and storyteller. Initial reactions from MoB photographer/contributor Daniel Brielmaier reflected the evening was “right up there with the special shows we dream of.” Yeah, I’ll be kicking myself for missing this one for some time.

By Daniel Brielmaier

Jim White graced the Orpheum Stage Door theater last evening with his twist on Americana through stories and of course music. He entered the stage wearing a tall red trucker cap, which he courteously removed for his performance, as he set up “A Perfect Day To Chase Tornados” from his 1997 album …Wrong Eyed Jesus. The story goes; he and a friend were watching several waterspouts off the coast somewhere when one of the spouts changed course and was headed directly towards them. As the waterspout hit land and went from being a waterspout to a tornado, his friend launched himself directly into the center of it. The tornado collapsed within seconds and Jim’s friend is sadly no longer with us…or so the story goes. His point was that he admired his friend for having the courage to go for it where he was mired in apprehension.

Throughout the night Jim peppered stories between his songs. Stories of Bible Belt life, Evangelicals, male modeling, taxi driving, no-fly lists, terrorists, philosophy, love, hate, politics, and on and on. White is nothing if not sincere, yet he never claims to hold the answers to life’s questions. He just knows how to reframe those questions into shapes you may not have thought of. Jim played several songs off his new album Transnormal Skiperoo and only a few from his first albums. He prefers to play songs live that aren’t on his albums. I like that idea. It keeps the experience new and fresh.

He expressed his affection for Wisconsin, and suggested he’d like to move here if someone would just invite him. Many in the crowd promptly invited him. After the show he unpacked his “traveling thrift store” of White family clothing, and welcomed the audience to do some rummage. Even if Jim doesn’t decide to ultimately move to Madison, there’ll be a lot of people dressed in his clothes to keep his spirit alive in Wisconsin.

If you made the show drop us a comment and let us know what you thought of the night? Sounds like Vid Libert was well-received. Did anyone pick up anything from Jim’s traveling thrift store of clothes and hats which he sold after the show?

Photos: Daniel Brielmaier
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Myspace: Jim White
MP3: Jim White - “Crash Into The Sun”

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