Words + Photos ANDREW PARKS
One of the things many listeners overlook about The Black Keys is how layered their records are. Even their earliest material — especially their earliest material — is raw yet robust.
Maybe it's because drummer Patrick Carney and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach worked alongside Danger Mouse on their past four albums, but it's easy to forget the chaos they were able to conjure and capture on such early self-produced LPs as Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory. Bursting at the seams with overblown riffs and battering ram beats, they were proof that overdubs don't have to be the enemy. They can be a band's secret weapon.
No wonder why this past summer's 'Let's Rock' LP wasn't afraid to show its cards: a return to one's revved-up roots aimed straight at the arenas Auerbach and Carney now headline. Bringing everything full circle is a new live band capable of finishing and furthering The Black Keys' sentences, including Steve Marion (a.k.a. the underground guitar hero Delicate Steve) and the Dayton-based Gabbard brothers (guitarist Andy and bassist Zach, also of the long-running group Buffalo Killers).
Check out some photos from last Saturday's Target Center below, along with a few official videos from 'Let's Rock' and The Black Keys' recent tour rehearsals....
One of the things many listeners overlook about The Black Keys is how layered their records are. Even their earliest material — especially their earliest material — is raw yet robust.
Maybe it's because drummer Patrick Carney and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach worked alongside Danger Mouse on their past four albums, but it's easy to forget the chaos they were able to conjure and capture on such early self-produced LPs as Thickfreakness and Rubber Factory. Bursting at the seams with overblown riffs and battering ram beats, they were proof that overdubs don't have to be the enemy. They can be a band's secret weapon.
No wonder why this past summer's 'Let's Rock' LP wasn't afraid to show its cards: a return to one's revved-up roots aimed straight at the arenas Auerbach and Carney now headline. Bringing everything full circle is a new live band capable of finishing and furthering The Black Keys' sentences, including Steve Marion (a.k.a. the underground guitar hero Delicate Steve) and the Dayton-based Gabbard brothers (guitarist Andy and bassist Zach, also of the long-running group Buffalo Killers).
Check out some photos from last Saturday's Target Center below, along with a few official videos from 'Let's Rock' and The Black Keys' recent tour rehearsals....
