IQALUIT, Nunavut - No, that Icky Thump reverberating loudly in this remote Arctic capital on Wednesday night wasn't the sound of ice breaking up in Frobisher Bay.

It was the righteous noise-making of howlin' blues-rock duo The White Stripes, who played the Arctic Winter Games Arena as part of their unique - and hopefully trendsetting - tour of all ten Canadian provinces and territories in support of their barely two-week old new album, Icky Thump.

"Meg and I had a little time and a little dinner with your Inuit elders today," said the darkly sexy White Stripes singer-guitarist Jack White in his trademark red shirt and pants with black shoes.

"And for the first time I had uncooked caribou - mmm, mmm good!" he added to huge cheers.

White, joined by drmmer Meg in a white shirt and black pants on drums, continued the long-standing ruse that the duo - who will celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band with a show in Glace Bay, N.S. on July 14 - are actually siblings instead of ex-husband and wife.

"My name is Jack White and this is my big sister Meg White on drums," he said by way of introduction.

Whatever their relationship was, the two musicians are clearly still in sync as they operated without a set list - as per usual - and improvised wherever possible.

White seemed determined to get in Meg's face as often as he could with one of his four microphone stands hovering dangerously close to her red and white drum kit as he maniacally sang away.

In a cute aside, her first name was spelled out in red letters on the back of her cushioned white drum stool and a red and white Canadian flag could be seen on one of the speakers, nicely fitting in with the band's red, white and black colour motif.

And when Meg got up to sweetly sing In The Cold, Cold Night, the crowd seemed totally mesmerized by her rare vocal performance.

But it was a cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene that was the first tune of the evening to spark a clap-along amongst the ecstatic crowd who often chanted "White Stripes! White Stripes!" in between songs.

Other highlights of the hour-and-35-minute show were such back catalogue delights as Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground, Hotel Yorba, I Know We're Going To Friends, The Hardest Button To Button, Fell In Love With A Girl and Seven Nation Army.

And newer tunes like Icky Thump's title track, Cause And Effect, and 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues, improved in the live setting mainly due to White's stellar guitar playing on acoustic, electric and slide, and total commitment to theatrical performing.

Still, it was the deeply psychedelic I'm Slowly Turning Into You which prove to be the best new song as it ended with a big showdown between Jack and Meg.

Much has also been made about the sunken floor of the Arctic Winter Games Arena, but that flaw was disguised on Wednesday night by having the stage take up the front end of the venue where the problem lies.

"The tundra's taking over," summed up Jack.

Otherwise, white and red convention curtains (again with those colors!) cordoned off the arena's built-in cement seating and merchandise included $30 limited edition t-shirts that will only be offered on the Canadian leg of their tour.

But given Iqaluit's out of the way locale and the lack of A-list acts that have actually made their way here - the last big group to play the arena was the Barenaked Ladies a decade ago - it truly seemed a shame that the venue was only about a quarter full due to fire marshall regulations.

"This room can hold a couple more people than this, can't it?," said Jack. "We wanted more people in but the fire marshall said no. Hey, I don't want anybody to catch fire!

"Tell those people that couldn't come that Meg and I were sorry," he added more seriously. The other thing is that the arena is situated in a striking setting, high on a hill overlooking the town and Frobisher Bay below so an outside stage would have only added to the dramatics of the show, which saw Nunavut rocker Lucie Idlout open.

By the time Jack and Meg appeared on stage waving Nunavut's territorial flag at the end of the evening, you almost wished it were a multi-night stand.

Apparently, so did Jack.

"I could stay here for a week and get to know everyone in town," he said.