2004)

Added by a Guest Author on 26 January 2004

The blues. They rock. Ohio duo The Black Keys deduce this on the last night of their tour at MF Astoria II.

Likened to colour-coded compatriots The White Stripes in almost every breath of the accompanying buzz (somewhat justified, this), the ‘Keys certainly have the musical grammar for a grudge. Guitarist Dan Auerbach‘s overdriven fury is impressively finger-pickin’ good – I’ve never enjoyed someone tuning up so much – and there’s never a wish for any more or less grease to the tone wheels, even if the amps do seem to be straining. The essential grunt behind a fusion of Jon Spencer and John Fogerty’s blues explosions with the essential canon of Muddy, Buddy and Stevie, Auerbach’s Telecaster is augmented by distinguished use of a slide and but a sparse selection of pedals.

For this, my friends, is lo-fi minimalism at its apex, epitomised by the quirky-funky drumming of lanky Patrick Carney. A tambourine and shakers, occasionally used in place of sticks, fill the gaps between mighty kick-drum hits and some of his unexpected fills more than justify his share in half the ‘Keys operation. The only element in the band tonight that doesn’t equate to such revelry is Auerbach’s voice, which sounds muted in the mix; although betrays signs of the strength and yearning that the album tracks demonstrate.

The Black Keys have no need to earn their stripes. A cross-generational crowd, who didn’t initially look like they had it in them, was transformed into a moshing mass in various quarters by the time of two uproarious encores and then a quieter, final epitaph. Certainly this eclipsed energetic, if generic support from Norwegian rockers the Cato Salsa Experience. D. Rose