Jack White 'making bowling cool' in Moncton

Jack White is apretty goodbowler. Just ask Barry Wood, manager of Fairlanes Bowling in Moncton.

"He throws a nice ball," Wood said of theWhite Stripes guitarist. "He looks like he's bowled before."

White showed up at the alley three times this week to bowl a few strings: once for a private party Mondayand again both before and after Tuesday night's show at the Moncton Coliseum.

Woodsaid he'd never heard of the American blues-rock duo before this week but now he's hoping the band's interest in bowling will bring more young people to the MountainRoad lanes.

Wood said he told White: " 'Listen, you know you're making bowling cool here.' I said, 'You've got to let us get a picture with you,' and he says, 'Absolutely.' "

Wood didn't, however, get the bigger prize:One ofthe duo'ssignaturesurprise shows.The guitarist and his bandmate, drummer Meg White,had planned to playat the alley on Tuesday afternoon but called it off at the last minute, Wood said.

The guitarist and drummer were very quiet, and appeared to like to stick to their own small group of people, Wood said.

The band has been touring Canada over the past few weeks to promote its sixth album, Icky Thump. Along the way the duo has playedimpromptu shows on a Winnipeg city bus,at a Whitehorse park, at an Edmonton community centre and, during their P.E.I. stop Wednesday, on on the Charlottetown waterfront.

The White Stripes are scheduled to performFridayat the Cunard Centre in Halifax and the Savoy Theatre in Cape Breton's Glace Bay on Saturday.

The band's 18-stop Canadian tour, with shows in every province and territory, startedon June 24 in Burnaby, B.C., andwraps up July 16 in St. John's, N.L.