The Black Keys – Review 06/07/10
Manchester Academy, 06/07/10
On the back of their seventh album ‘Brothers’, the Akron duo deliver the goods in fine style to a packed Academy-1. From the outset it becomes apparent just how live, and just how from-the-heart their studio work really is. Since their formation in 2001, the Black Keys modus operandi has been characterised by thick set, gritty blues guitar and high-octane percussion! The beauty in this combination lies in its simplicity and its honesty, where substance and innate passion reign supreme over refinery, polish and over production! The Black Keys are unique in so many ways, not least of which is the partnership of guitar and drums, a unification which sees the latter perched precariously on the very front edge of the stage!
Initially the set develops as one might expect, classic Black Keys material, with a string riff-stomping numbers from Thick Freakness, Rubber Factory, The Big Come Up and Attack and Release. It’s all classic Keys, and all rather excellent. By ‘Next Girl’ and ‘Tighten Up’, something is different, and a departure from the standard Black Keys formula seems apparent! This is further underlined with the almost 70′s style poppy-rhythm in ‘Howlin for You’! Embodied in the new Material from Brothers, the Black Keys have subtly nuanced their traditional true-grit blues with soulful shades and funky elements. This interplay of styles injects a broadened dynamic into the music, yet it’s still unmistakably Black Keys, and the rocking hordes bear testimony to its musical excellence.
Another song from Brothers, ‘She’s Long Gone’, detours back to roots blues, yet equally it retains a sense of modernity with a roller coasting rhythm that is hypnotic; to resist the urge to rock is decidedly futile! So intelligent is the music that despite the more groovy nuances both new material and old dovetail in a seamless fashion. This is further evidenced by ‘No Trust’, which maintains the transcendental state of affairs, its heavily reverbed and meandering guitar riff surely the most perfect road trip accompaniment!
The hypnotic effect of the gritty guitar riffage and the almost tribal like percussive onslaught induces a crowd reaction which is simply electric, and the ‘moshers‘ waste no time at all in reaching their fever pitched frenzy! Patrick Carney doesn’t miss a beat all night, and the effort he exerts behind the skins seems at times superhuman! Although the band are accompanied by the addition of bass player and keyboardist for some of the mid-set songs, the mass of sound that the Black Keys project, be it sometimes heavy, be it sometimes very delicate, is truly phenomenal. Central to the Black Keys sound is Dan Auerbach’s guitar technique, with his trademark finger picking style and characteristic thumb driven bass rhythms. The end result is pure blues laden emotion!
The Black Keys deliver a truly marathon set tonight, and although the album of the moment is undoubtedly ‘Brothers’, the inclusion of material all the way back to The Big Come Up makes you realise the special quality and moreover the timeless nature of the music. The material on Brothers does seem a more eclectic concoction than preceding works, yet despite the more trendy edge it still retains that all essential Black Keys grittiness. Without doubt this diversity will appeal to a wide audience, be they staunch classic Keys aficionados, or the next generation coming into the fold.