Venues
Events
VideoMusic
The Black Keys Channel Ike Turner
Expect the same notorious live performances, plus a handful of new tunes written for Tina’s late ex
The Black Keys at an 2007 Atlanta concert (Photo: beardenb/Flickr)
| | More
Over the last decade or so, guitar and drum duos have become ubiquitous in rock: The White Stripes and the now defunct Death From Above 1979 are just two examples. The Black Keys fit that bill as well, but they’ve also defined themselves with a dominating stage presence not easily matched. As fans know, any chance to see the band live is one worth the price of admission.
After releasing their first album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, the Akron, Ohio, based group—guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney—quickly established themselves as a creative force with an infectious blues-rock sensibility. Part of their stripped down, soulful sound no doubt comes as a result of their intense recording sessions, usually in a barebones environment with minimal equipment.
Since 2002, the duo has released several albums, and two DVDs, Live and Black Keys Live at the Crystal Ballroom (November, 2008). But this year’s Attack and Release was met with unprecedented critical acclaim.
Most notable on the Keys’s latest is a departure from their stark garage sound, consistent through other releases. More than anything, this had to do with Auerbach and Carney being approached by producer Danger Mouse, a.k.a Brian Burton (known for his work with the Gorillaz and Beck and as a member of the band Gnarls Barkley), to write songs for an Ike Turner album. But then Turner passed away at the age of 76 before the project’s completion. Auerbach and Carney realized that they had a pile of fresh material as a result.
Burton suggested that the duo travel to L.A. to work on the new album; but, ever loyal to their roots, the Black Keys stayed in Ohio, settling into a studio outside the city of Cleveland with Burton still at the helm. Though the studio still retained the ramshackle feel of their previous accommodations, the availability of new equipment led to a sound more varied than past efforts. Organs and even a synthesizer interject where there was once only guitar and drum, while bits and pieces of folk-inspired instrumentation seep into several of the tracks. Eighteen-year-old bluegrass vocalist Jessica Lea Mayfield joins Auerbach on the last track as an added twist. The band came away from the session with a more polished but no less inspired sound that has garnered much attention. The new tour won’t disappoint.