THE black keys

by Ric Rawlins on Tue, 2008/05/20 - 1:05am
Mon, 2008/05/19 - Astoria, London
ARTROCKER RATING:
“They nearly wouldn’t let me into the country yesterday!” (Boooo!) “They said I had too many stamps on ma passport!” (Woooooo!) “Ha ha! Anyway… we’re gonna play a few tunes for you now!” (Yeeeaaahhh!). And thus begins the assault on Precinct Charing Cross, as The Black Keys take their blues show to central London. Tonight this band aren’t just the man-o-man White Stripes - they’re the wildest, most natural act on Earth.
Tonight's musicianship is so good, don't be surprised if Jack White hibernates in The Raconteurs for a little while yet...
Danger Mouse may have produced their new LP (and done a great job), but many of the fans tonight go way back when to the giddy old days of 2002 when the duo first started. As a return gesture, they kick off with early standards ‘Set You Free’ and ‘Thickfreakness’. And it’s incredible to watch them go; drummer Patrick Carney deserves to be filmed in slow motion as he boxes the kit like a Zen master. Singer and beard wearer Dan Auerbach has the spirit of an impish teenager, all charming grins and winning energy. And The Blues, Ooooh the Bluuueees! The Black Keys are well aware that the genre is all about stretching your pain across the washboard and holding it up for the neighbours to see. Maybe half the audience knows that too… but history is a courtesy call when you’re faced with riffs that scream like white-hot banshees. The Black Keys simplify blues rock into a supernatural ABC just like The White Stripes, but with Patrick Carney’s life-or-death drumming they might just have the edge. Tonight’s musicianship is so good, don’t be surprised if Jack White hibernates in The Raconteurs for a little while longer.

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