The Black Keys can make some goddamn noise.
The opening four songs were "Thickfreakness," "Girl Is On My Mind," "10 A.M. Automatic," and "Set You Free": a four-song blast that demonstrated that the Black Keys were there to bring it loud and dirty, rather than just knock out tunes.
All the performances Friday evening took the songs and gave them a different interpretation. It was a pleasant nod to the band's blues leanings that, rather than slavishly representing the music as it was on record, guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach instead turned everything rough and loose.
| Forester Michael |
| Forester Michael |
| Forester Michael |
A lot of the Brothers cuts were played with the assistance of some of the members of Brian Olive, the opening act, which may have contributed to their lackluster live performance. I'd've preferred to have seen what Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney could have done with the Brothers numbers by stripping them of the embellishment given them in the studio.
Set list
Thickfreakness
Girl Is On My Mind
Set You Free
10 A.M. Automatic
The Breaks
Stack Shot Billy
Busted
Everywhere I Go
Same Old Thing
Strange Times
Tighten Up
Howlin' For You
Too Afraid To Love You
Next Girl
She's Long Gone
Ten Cent Pistol
I'll Be Your Man
Your Touch
No Trust
I Got Mine
Encore:
Everlasting Light
Till I Get My Way
Brian Olive's opening set was lackluster, as well. The act was a boringly derivative garage act. It took an eight piece band (led by the former Greenhornes and Soledad Brothers frontman Oliver Henry) to sound like a four-piece. The band played seemingly unending songs, with a set that stretched out to a particularly uncomfortable hour. As I stated to my concert-going companion, I'd heard better bands playing from the sidewalk on the walk from the car. Her response summed them up even more aptly: "Hell, I heard a better ice cream truck."
Half the audience was more interested in gossiping and smoking than paying attention to the rock brought on stage before them. The show starting a good hour later than advertised (and a dreadfully boring opening act) brought the mood down, but the show was about a million miles away from what it could have been. Much like the Dead Weather a month ago, the Black Keys could have benefited from an atmosphere more conducive to their music than the block party-like vibe that permeated the Crossroads.
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