It was a full, rambunctious crowd that came out to see the premiere of The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights Friday night at the Elgin, what wasn’t clear was whether they were there to see a movie, or there to see Jack and Meg White. I’m not a big fan of celebrity gawking, but I like the band, I like their music and the historic notion of playing every province and territory in Canada on a single tour certainly seemed like an interesting hook to hang a concert movie on. So much so, I don’t think that you even nee to be a White Stripes fan to enjoy the movie, but it helps of course.

Defying convention, Northern Lights doesn’t meticulously follow the band from city to city as they run through their repertoire. The film focuses more on the shows the Stripes did in Canada’s territories than it does on the big city gigs. Big bands touring Canada rarely make it beyond the county’s 10 biggest cities, and doing shows in places like the 200,000-plus strong Whitehorse is rarer still. Gone are the stadiums and the amphitheatres, but in are town halls and hockey arenas. Along the way, Jack and Meg play impromptu shows in town squares or entertain some seniors and trade stories at a First Nation’s retirement home. Whether they’re playing on a city bus in Winnipeg or a one note show in St. John’s, NFLD, the White Stripes go out of their way to deliver an unconventional tour.

Similarly, the film delivers with an unconventional flair and attention to detail. Much of the footage is in black and white, like a kind of White Stripes remake of A Hard Day’s Night. In fact, the music is almost an afterthought as compared to the band’s interactions with the people and places they encounter on the road. The songs though a still substantive presence of course given that it is a movie about a band on tour. Director Emmett Malloy makes some interesting choices in terms of what he selects to present and in what order, further I don’t thing that the Whites had much of a say in it, and showed a great level of trust in the director. There’s probably not another concert movie out there where you’ll see the band picked-up at the airport as Yellowknife’s Gordon Van Tighem did when the Whites touched down in his town, and there’s probably no other venue where you’ll hear Meg talk quite so much. Obviously liking the music of the White Stripes is an asset, but I think that as cultural piece it’s pretty compelling too. It’s definitely the most interesting concert films I’ve seen, and it’s a chance to see a side of Canada even many Canadians don’t get to enjoy.