Jack White - Hammersmith Apollo, London 03/07/14

”People can’t clap anymore, because they’ve got a fucking texting thing in their fucking hand” he told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. And whilst there was still a fair amount of that tomfoolery on show tonight, it has to be said that the majority complied with White in taking a stand against technology for the night.

Besides, who would want to be viewing the most seismic of renditions of “Steady, As She Goes” from behind a three-inch screen? White hands singing duties over to the enthralled audience for the Raconteurs’ much-adored hit and simply stands there with a beaming grin stretching between his two trademark curtains of jet black hair as they rhapsodically recite his work. He approves.

It’s far from the only moment of impeccably orchestrated artist-audience interaction and the sing-alongs are just as fervent during early White Stripes classic “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” and his very own “Temporary Ground”. The latter sees the onstage chemistry between White and fiddler-cum-co-lead vocalist Lillie Mae Rische at its peak.

It stands as just one of many tracks from last month’s scorching second solo album Lazaretto that punctuate White’s set. Play that record almost in its entirety he may, but he is, of course, eager to perform numbers from all factions of his enviable back catalogue.

Whilst the numerous White Stripes and Raconteurs hits go down a treat, “Blue Blood Blues” – the Dead Weather’s merciless pièce de resistance – is the surprise contender for song of the night. White spent his time with that band cooped up behind a drum kit so a solo show gives him the prime opportunity to stamp his absolute authority on this belter by losing himself in a temporary feral state and tearing up the stage with savage, pulsating riffs.

Hard-hitting doses of bluesy rock such as this see the already maniacal mosh pit surge to enormous size and intensity. People may mosh to anything these days but for once the craze seems to fit in with the nature of the performer.

There’s plenty of scope for it tonight as the likes of “Icky Thump” and the instrumental “High Ball Stepper” induce complete and utter bedlam. It’s not just the youngsters getting in on the act either; Jack White fans come from all walks of life. Whether it’s the raw blues of the seven-minute epic “Ball And Biscuit” or the country charm of “Just One Drink”, each and every tune succeeds in getting a different section of the audience more pumped than the rest.

Needless to say, it’s a certain closing track that unites all 5,000 pilgrims in their state of spellbound delirium. It normally takes a brave soul to start unashamedly belting out the intro to a song in anticipation but “Seven Nation Army” is so ingrained in the minds of everyone, Jack White lover or not, there needn’t be any embarrassment from false starting.

The White Stripes’ career-defining release, a fixture everywhere from rowdy nights at the local to frenetic football terraces, is the predictable yet no less emphatic finale to a soul-altering night. It continues long after White and his band have left the stage, its iconic pseudo-bass riff orally mimicked over and over and over again. Balls to the curfew!

They may already have paid £40 to spend a night in Jack White’s engrossing company but his ardently devoted fans will happily stay behind, miss the last train and fork out for a cab ride home if need be. This is a man whose unique genius transcends everything.