Jack White made a humorous cameo at the opening of Beck’s set at Nashville’s Basement East on March 21, in which he pretended to be the singer-songwriter and launched into a cover Chumbawamba's Tubthumping.
Footage posted on White’s Third Man Records Instagram account shows the singer/songwriter take to the stage before Beck’s set begins and pick up an acoustic guitar.
“Hello, ladies and gentleman, I’m Beck,” says White, with a faux-Southern twang. “I’d like to do one of my favorite Beck songs from the 1990s, that I wrote.”
White then proceeds to play a countrified version of Chumbawamba’s sing-along Tubthumping, which he then morphs into The Proclaimers' I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). However, White’s plan is soon foiled as Beck joins him onstage.
“What are you doing, Jack?” says Beck. “You asked for some nail clippers. I went out to my car to get them. I come back, and you’re playing my show. That’s Chumbawamba. That’s not me.”
White eventually relents, and introduces the true headliner, “Ladies and gentlemen, Beck, the real one…”
It’s an enjoyably pointless and amusing exchange between the two artists, which appears to take the phrase ‘steal the show’ quite literally. It’s surprising White has the time to spare for such cameos, given he’s currently gearing up for a world tour and the release of two albums, but then here we are, talking about it, so perhaps it’s not entirely pointless, after all.
If his Chumbawamba rendition has whetted your appetite, you can catch White on his aptly-named Supply Chain Issues world tour, which begins April 8 at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre.
For tickets and information, head to Jack White’s official site.
