Following on from a successful appearance at Tennents Vital in Belfast, The Black Keys brought
their brand of swaggering blues rock to Dublin’s O2 arena. The nights
material was mostly drawn from their breakthrough album ‘El Camino’ and
its 2010 predecessor ‘Brothers’, but the band also delved further back
in time for songs such as Your Touch and Thickfreakness.
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney wasted no time diving straight in to a quivering version of Howlin’ For You, a song which could as easily be called For You, Howlin’ as it is forged with a classic deep-south blues blueprint. Dan Auerbach’s guitar work is beautifully weighted throughout the tremolo verses and a virtuoso solo section. Next Girl
continues the onslaught of sexual blues riffs and done me wrong lyrics.
Several songs in Auerbach’s guitar maestro status is secured, The only
question that remains is, is he the heir apparent to Stevie Ray Vaughan
or Jimmy Page or both. He has the voice to match his guitar chops,
delivering utterly believable, seductive, gravelly refrains, full of
lust and innuendos. The throbbing sexual nature of the material was
heightened by the pumping oversized ’30s flashbulb set design. Run Right Back
the first song to be taken from ‘El Camino’ caused mass hysteria thanks
to its pulsating bass line and unifying moments such as “she’s the
worst thing I’ve been addicted to”. The feel good factor continued as
thousands of voices sang the “Na na” sections throughout Dead and Gone and furthermore on the gritty glam inspired Gold On The Ceiling.
At this point the hired guns on bass and keyboards departed leaving
The Black Keys as a duo for the first time in the evening. How would
they fare with this stripped down bare bones approach? Unbelievably they
were louder and bolder than they were as a four piece, delving in to
their back catalogue for songs such as Thickfreakness and I’ll Be Your Man, which
uses the type of crazy distortion tone that childhood rock n’ roll
dreams are made of. The crowd lapped up this section of the show
wholeheartedly, despite many fans having never heard the material
before. It’s lighter in the air time as Dan Auerbach goes momentarily
solo for a version of Little Black Submarines, but the crowd are delighted when Patrick Carney joins in on drums halfway through. The
crowd are stunned as Auerbach sprints across the stage for his electric
guitar and the band are seamlessly reintroduced to the fray, as the
heavy outro section of Little Black Submarines crashes in to life.
Money Maker brings back the glam rock party atmosphere to The O2 while Strange Times
heightens the pace still with some QOTSA-esque riffs and yet more
fantasy guitar distortion. It’s sing-along time once again as organ
swirls and throbbing bass carry the crowd through the “And I don’t know
what you want” chorus of Nova Baby. With its broken-hearted mid pace shuffle, Ten Cent Pistol
has a Ray Charles meets Bill Withers feel to it. A wonderful sudden
change of pace to the performance and once again highlights Auerbach’s immense flexibility as a guitar player. The Black Keys close the set with their big hits Tighten Up and Lonely Boy. which is performed at a merciless pace.
As the band say their goodbyes the inevitable cries of “one more
tune” fill the room, but the crowds fervour for more is astounding and
the noise they create is deafening as stamping feet and clapping hands
combine making it seem as though the roof may cave in. The Black Keys return to the stage for an impressive version of Everlasting Light featuring some top-notch falsetto vocals by Auerbach.
A giant glitter ball slowly descends from the ceiling much to the
delight of the crowd who bask in the shining light. The evening finished
with a turbocharged version of I Got Mine which once again
featured some stunning fretmanship. The last hurrah came when the song
reached its crescendo and the flashbulb lights joined to read The Black
Keys in giant letters drawing an ecstatic reaction from the crowd.
The Black Keys may be the flavour of the month right
now, but with material on offer tonight dating back as far as 2003,
it’s clear that they have been one of the best bands in the world for
some time. They are a walking up yours to the “if they don’t have a hit drop’em quick”
record industry that stifles the development of talent by throwing them
on the scrap-heap at the first hurdle. The Black Keys embody the old
way of doing things when talent, not fame was the necessity. The best
gig of the year by some distance
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