Gig Review: The Black Keys

The Black Keys

El Camino Tour

Adelaide Entertainment Center

Tuesday, October 30

Since 'Lonely Boy' went viral across the globe, The Black Keys have become this year's face of Rock and Roll.

It was refreshing to see the Adelaide Entertainment Centre stripped down for such a popular music act; it was nothing but the crowd and Dan and Patrick - more commonly known of course as The Black Keys.  Much similar to Mumford and Sons, the set was simple lighting; an indication of where music is at the moment and how you can tell the difference between a concert and performance. 

The Black Keys - AEC (source: AdelaideNow)

Opening their set with the track that all fans of the hit HBO series "Tru Blood" would love, "Howlin' for you," The Black Keys set the tone  early on.  Dirty, grungy, sexy rock had Adelaide howling for The Black Keys.  After playing a few songs with accompaniments, Dan and Patrick took to the stage -  just the two of them, -  taking the audience back in time, playing a number of old songs, before bringing back the band to play out their most recent hits 'Lonely Boy' and 'Gold on the Ceiling.'

The level of energy in the room was inescapable and whilst The Black Keys had a "lets-get-on-with-it" attitude to the concert, it wasn't insulting by any means; the crowd couldn't agree more - they were there to hear the music!  Although admittedly at times the instrumentals seemed to be arguing over tempo, this was always quickly adjusted, and the music was so good no one really gave a shit anyway.   It's safe to say any errors that were made that may have not gone unnoticed, where immediately forgotten when the worlds biggest discoball dropped for the boys' encore.  (Just search #discoball and #theblackkeys on instragram to see.)

There's something raw about The Black Keys music and seeing them perform live on stage amplified how exactly how cool they are.  The Black Keys may have cracked the mainstream music market but they are by no means a mainstream band, making it clear they are sticking by their roots and that they understand their what their fans love.

To find out more about The Black Keys you can look them up on facebook, twitter or visit their website for gig dates - www.theblackkeys.com

The end.