We’ve likely all felt like a concert was a little too short once or twice. When it comes to seeing your favorite artist live, you really can’t get enough. A band could play for hours upon hours and their loyal fans wouldn’t blink. However, theres only one band that can take the crown for the shortest concert ever: The White Stripes. Read more about the moment, below.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: What if a White Orchid Turns Blue? The Meaning Behind “Blue Orchid” by The White Stripes]
On This Day: The White Stripes Play Shortest Concert Ever
On July 16, 2007, The White Stripes were primed to play a pop up show in Canada. Instead of aiming to thrill the crowd with their stellar discography, they aimed for another goal: breaking a world record. Getting into the Guinness World Records book is a dream for many, even rock stars. The duo hoped their short stint on stage would earn them the laud.
“Let’s play one note today,” Jack White once said of the moment. “So we’ll put on a show and tell people it’s a free show, but we’re only going to play one note… I told Meg as we were getting out of the car. I said, ‘Make sure you grab your cymbal — when you hit the cymbal, grab it so that the note only lasts a millisecond.’”
Despite their laudable effort in playing the shortest show of all time, the world record was later deemed unnecessary and scrapped from the famed annual.
“I was thinking that afterwards we could contact the Guinness World Records people and see if we could get the record for shortest concert of all time,” White continued. “So we did it, but ultimately they turned us down.”
“I like that — just don’t show up,” White added. “The thing is, though, that the Guinness book is a very elitist organization. There’s nothing scientific about what they do. They just have an office full of people who decide what is a record and what isn’t.”
They may not have stayed in the Guinness World Records, but they certainly delivered a memorable performance–if you can even call it that. Check out the moment, below.
(Photo by John Shearer/WireImage for Warner Bros. Records)
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.