You're supposed to feel music. You don’t count it out for enjoyment; you let it wash over you as its own living force. You let it take you on a ride.
Bands like the Black Keys understand this innate quality to music, which is why they were able to level the Fox Theater with their brisk wall of sound. Hitting on a healthy amount of material from their back catalog, as well as their new album Brothers, the Black Keys put together a set that moved audiences, instead of one where they merely played at them.
Right away, fans were swept up in the Black Keys' minimal, yet robust, sound. Beginning with “Thickfreakness,” Dan Auerbach let his clunky, crunchy guitar do most of the angular talking over Patrick Carney’s fat, punchy beats. It set the tone for a raucous night ahead, one filled with deep sounds, white noise freak-outs, and muscular riffing.
Throughout their 6 LPs, the group’s songwriting has always remained consistent, but it’s the force with which they recreate these songs live that made their stage show captivating. Cuts like the dizzying “Girl Is On My Mind” and the squealing “The Breaks” illustrate just how MUCH sound the Keys can squeeze out of their guitar/drums makeup. Even the group’s slicker cuts, like the reverb wrapped “Next Girl” or the shuffling “Tighten Up,” benefited from the Black Key’s live thump, which granted these songs a bit more muscle than their recorded counterparts.
As the evening went on, it became clearer that the Black Keys are successful in tapping into this raw energy because of the chemistry shared between Auerbach and Carney.
Always a hard worker behind the drum kit, Carney comes across as positively manic on stage, his intricate fills clamoring through overdriven waves with a crisp decisiveness. Auerbach, on the other hand, has a tunefulness and a soulful quality that he injects into these songs, even as his hand crawls up the fret board like a frightened spider. They compliment each other beautifully; Carney providing the primal punch to Auerbach’s tempered aggression. While the band brought out additional musicians to help recreate the more layered tracks off of Brothers (the richly textured “Everlasting Light” comes to mind), it was clear that essence of the Black Keys lay with Carney and Auerbach's charisma.
They, after all, are the group’s heart and soul, and they wanted the Fox to remember that.
Whether it was the clattering crunch on “Grown So Ugly” or the scattered blast beats on a stripped version of “Strange Times,” the evening’s most memorable moments came when Carney and Auerbach locked into a solid groove with one and other. The duo offered up extended versions of a few of their songs, most notably “Stack Shot Billy,” where they reveled in long segments of guitar bravado and stutter-stop rhythms. Small touches like that helped show that Carney and Auerbach care about making music in the moment, providing the audience with some improvisational flourishes to make the evening unique.
Simply put, the Black Keys weren’t concerned with playing something sterile and lifeless. They wanted to bring the feeling of their records alive, rather than just play them note for note.
As a result, the Black Keys live experience is a loose affair. The thunderous drums and sharp keyboards on “Too Afraid To Love You” were punctuated with Auerbach’s howling vocals. Elsewhere, “Set You Free,” held itself together with sleazy, crawling rhythms, and scattered drumming. Yet the evening’s real highlight was a powerful rendition of “I Got Mine,” which found Carney and Auerbach in noisy synchronicity. The two musicians took turns dictating the arrangement’s frightening pace, expertly displaying the song’s winding melodies with relentless fury.
Ultimately, it was the perfect way to end their set, completely unhinged.
While most live acts find a way to successfully bring their music to life, it’s rare to find a group that operates with such give and take. Above all else, the Black Keys understand what grants music the ability to reach out and grab listeners: Tension. Their songs are a battle between two huge forces, a quality that grants character to these songs, one that’s far beyond the group’s song craft. When you go to a Black Keys concert, you feel as though Auerbach’s wailing guitar and Carney’s rumbling drums can go off the rails at any moment, and before they do, the duo dials it back to avoid a messy crash.
That rise and fall gives their music its vivaciousness, its overwhelming presence, and most importantly, a life of its own.
Bands like the Black Keys understand this innate quality to music, which is why they were able to level the Fox Theater with their brisk wall of sound. Hitting on a healthy amount of material from their back catalog, as well as their new album Brothers, the Black Keys put together a set that moved audiences, instead of one where they merely played at them.
Right away, fans were swept up in the Black Keys' minimal, yet robust, sound. Beginning with “Thickfreakness,” Dan Auerbach let his clunky, crunchy guitar do most of the angular talking over Patrick Carney’s fat, punchy beats. It set the tone for a raucous night ahead, one filled with deep sounds, white noise freak-outs, and muscular riffing.
Throughout their 6 LPs, the group’s songwriting has always remained consistent, but it’s the force with which they recreate these songs live that made their stage show captivating. Cuts like the dizzying “Girl Is On My Mind” and the squealing “The Breaks” illustrate just how MUCH sound the Keys can squeeze out of their guitar/drums makeup. Even the group’s slicker cuts, like the reverb wrapped “Next Girl” or the shuffling “Tighten Up,” benefited from the Black Key’s live thump, which granted these songs a bit more muscle than their recorded counterparts.
As the evening went on, it became clearer that the Black Keys are successful in tapping into this raw energy because of the chemistry shared between Auerbach and Carney.
Always a hard worker behind the drum kit, Carney comes across as positively manic on stage, his intricate fills clamoring through overdriven waves with a crisp decisiveness. Auerbach, on the other hand, has a tunefulness and a soulful quality that he injects into these songs, even as his hand crawls up the fret board like a frightened spider. They compliment each other beautifully; Carney providing the primal punch to Auerbach’s tempered aggression. While the band brought out additional musicians to help recreate the more layered tracks off of Brothers (the richly textured “Everlasting Light” comes to mind), it was clear that essence of the Black Keys lay with Carney and Auerbach's charisma.
They, after all, are the group’s heart and soul, and they wanted the Fox to remember that.
Whether it was the clattering crunch on “Grown So Ugly” or the scattered blast beats on a stripped version of “Strange Times,” the evening’s most memorable moments came when Carney and Auerbach locked into a solid groove with one and other. The duo offered up extended versions of a few of their songs, most notably “Stack Shot Billy,” where they reveled in long segments of guitar bravado and stutter-stop rhythms. Small touches like that helped show that Carney and Auerbach care about making music in the moment, providing the audience with some improvisational flourishes to make the evening unique.
Simply put, the Black Keys weren’t concerned with playing something sterile and lifeless. They wanted to bring the feeling of their records alive, rather than just play them note for note.
As a result, the Black Keys live experience is a loose affair. The thunderous drums and sharp keyboards on “Too Afraid To Love You” were punctuated with Auerbach’s howling vocals. Elsewhere, “Set You Free,” held itself together with sleazy, crawling rhythms, and scattered drumming. Yet the evening’s real highlight was a powerful rendition of “I Got Mine,” which found Carney and Auerbach in noisy synchronicity. The two musicians took turns dictating the arrangement’s frightening pace, expertly displaying the song’s winding melodies with relentless fury.
Ultimately, it was the perfect way to end their set, completely unhinged.
While most live acts find a way to successfully bring their music to life, it’s rare to find a group that operates with such give and take. Above all else, the Black Keys understand what grants music the ability to reach out and grab listeners: Tension. Their songs are a battle between two huge forces, a quality that grants character to these songs, one that’s far beyond the group’s song craft. When you go to a Black Keys concert, you feel as though Auerbach’s wailing guitar and Carney’s rumbling drums can go off the rails at any moment, and before they do, the duo dials it back to avoid a messy crash.
That rise and fall gives their music its vivaciousness, its overwhelming presence, and most importantly, a life of its own.
2 comments:
I still have to get to your other posts but I have to comment on this one.
You described their live performance perfectly. I saw them a little over a week ago opening for Kings of Leon. I was having kind of a crappy day, but the minute I heard them start, it completely turned around.
It's like they were making a connection with everyone in the audience. And it was one of those rare times I could say I truly felt the music, both figuratively and literally (thanks to the, as you put it, maniacal drums)
While Kings of Leon were good, I walked away that night thinking of just how great the Black Keys sounded live. They also ended with "I Got Mine" featuring an extended solo which was amazing.
But the highlight for me was when they played "Ten Cent Pistol." For one, I didn't think it was a song they would pick for an opening slot, but it's one of my favorites. And they played it perfectly.
Sidenote: I've heard stories about the Fox Theater, like it's a place I must see. Growing up and still having family in California I have been to Arco Arena several times, but it seems I need to travel a little bit further now.
A good concert can wash away a cruddy day. I imagine Kings Of Leon would be fun to see, but The Black Keys most certainly make a lasting impression.
I'm also shocked they opened your show with "Ten Cent Pistol." They played it at our show too, but it was in the middle somewhere. Fantastic song. It really shows how Auerbach's moved into the realm of elaborate storytelling.
"I Got Mine" is a definite barn-burner, haha.
The Fox Theater is well worth the trip. The outside looks like a really old-timey movie theater with a big marquee and everything. The stage has two giant Buddha statues on either side of it, as well as intricate Eastern-style carvings on the ceiling and the sides. It feels like the Warfield mixed with an old Buddhist temple.
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