 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
What's New |
||||
The Black Keys |
 |
|||
LIVE REVIEWSLive from Tobacco Road: Shows in and around North Carolina |
|
|
It seems like everyone and his mother is forming a two-piece band these days. It’s unclear whether these duos are unable to play nice with others or whether they feel their double greatness (read: big fat ego) is sufficient to rock our worlds. Unfortunately, the two-piece rarely works live, because the musicians almost never have the chops to pull it off. The Black Keys, a duo from Akron, Ohio, are one hell of an exception. At their sold-out Cat’s Cradle show, the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach on guitar/vocal and Patrick Carney on drums, blew the crowd away with their mix of fiery blues-guitar licks and explosive drumming. Auerbach’s vocals, which are at times reminiscent of those from Paul Rodgers of Free/Bad Company, provided the spark that ignited it all. As a live two-piece, these guys put out more noise than like-minded North Mississippi All Stars (another great live band). And the Keys are tight. You can’t hide errors as a two-piece on stage, but no worries for the Keys--their performance was flawless.
Andrew
Helminger (Photos courtesy of Dan "Puddin' Time" Owens)
|
THE BLACK KEYS
Many blues-based bands get stuck in the rut of the same tired chord progressions. However, the Keys mix it up with a healthy dose of distorted rock straight out of an early-70s time warp, which keeps things engaging. At the Cradle, the Keys tore through songs like “10 A.M. Automatic,” “Grown So Ugly,” and “Til I Get My Way.” At times, drum sticks weren’t enough for Carney, so he resorted to using a tambourine and a maraca to beat his skins. You got the feeling that if a ball peen hammer had been available, Carney would have enlisted it as well. There was no room for ballads like “The Lengths” on the set list--somewhat unfortunate because this is a great song. But the omissions were understandable--the Keys didn’t have time for ballads. They were on a blues-rock mission to dispel the myth of the lame rock-and-roll two-piece. Mission accomplished.
