The White Stripes put on a surprise pre-concert show for fans in St. John's Monday evening, but it could not have been much shorter.

Guitarist Jack White and drummer Meg White took a stage at the George Street bar strip in downtown St. John's, a few hours before playing the final concert on a Canadian tour that took them to every province and territory they had never played before.

Jack White and Meg White played a single note before hundreds of delighted fans at an impromptu concert in downtown St. John's.
(CBC)

But for the secret show at George Street, the White Stripes played just a single note — reportedly a C-sharp — before telling fans they would see them at the scheduled concert.

Buzz had been building around the city for hours about a secret show, which became a hallmark of the group's unorthodox tour across Canada. The two-member band, for instance, played in a Halifax pool hall and on a bridge in Winnipeg.

Shortly before the suppertime show on George Street, fans were told the White Stripes would play just a single note. Hundreds of fans were able to make it to the stage in time to see the briefest of concerts.

The crowd cheered loudly after the Stripes played their one note, took a bow, and left the stage.

The follow-up show, however, pulled out all the stops.

"You can't accuse the White Stripes of phoning it in," said Zach Goudie, who reports on the music scene for CBC Radio in St. John's.

"I don't think you'll hear too many people whining," Goudie said, referring to the brevity of the pre-show. In light of the final concert, "the one-second secret show seems funny, instead of disappointing."