False Blue Thrill
The Black Keys 09/09/2014 : Bradley Center – Milwaukee, WI
by Brenton Goodrich
I don’t know what to expect these days from The Black Keys in a live setting. They seem to move and move again around different sounds, but I have always been blown away by new efforts. And I dig when an extremely talented band moves and moves again around different sounds. But, after several small venue shows, the effect does become somewhat different at a “big” show.
The enticing evening seemed at first to lack energy, but that easily could be due to a barely 2/3 full house and my own hang ups on seeing them in a large arena……ok enough about that. Opening up with “Dead and Gone” from 2011’s El Camino was a good stomping starter and then “Next Girl”, a personal favorite from one of the best albums of the past decade, 2010’s Brothers. Early songs also included the way underrated and rarely played “Same Old Thing”, a dirty blues atmospheric number from the underrated and rarely played dirty blues atmospheric album Attack and Release. “Gold On the Ceiling” was well played and got the crowd going. It was around this time I focused on something I was curious about: the contribution and impact of The Keys being a 4 piece live band now. There has been a steady change towards this for some time, but I fully expected tonight to be the first full on display for me. I think some of the instrumentation by the other guys allows band leader Dan Auerbach to relax on the shredding and concentrate on vocals and the crowd more often, which is required of big venue leads. (He would tear it up later to my delight.) The other member’s contribution was extremely solid and unity was evident on stage.
The set was very heavy on El Camino early which I guess is not a huge surprise seeing how it charted. But at some point I was thinking “give me the new Turn Blue album” I positively wanted to see. We waited longer. Very early tune “Leavin’ Trunk” was a pleasure and then Brothers “Too Afraid To Love You” was out of this world with passionate blues vocals and phenomenal playing. I feel like this is them at their best, good song structure but more focus on just playing. Then they went on a nice run of just rocking with a looser feel including the cover “A Girl Like You”, “Howlin’ for You”, and new album anthemic rocker “Gotta Get Away”. You know a great way to end a set? Absolutely tear up the first single from four of the last five albums in random order…..Turn Blue‘s “Fever”, and then “Tighten Up”, “Your Touch”, and “Lonely Boy”. “Your Touch” had some real ripping moments between Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney.
Encore break got me thinking they would come back with one of the groovier tracks from the new album we definitely wanted to hear. They fulfilled with “Turn Blue”, a phenomenal performance and all that is good about The Black Keys including the subtle textures and haunting vocals they should be known for. Before finishing up with the pounding “I Got Mine”, I was surprised by “Little Black Submarines”, a song I often forget about but had yet to hear live. The deliberate unfolding of delicate acoustic guitar, alluring vocals, and slow build up to the turn in the song…gave way to an absolutely explosive jam. I hadn’t considered this being a humongous live song, but it was more extraordinary than anything I can remember from their shows. It was as if the whole night was warming up to that moment, and the band seized it.
The playing was superb with several raging passages. Whether it’s a new kind of sound or a new kind of show, I’m still completely emerged. I would have preferred more of the new album, but maybe this new sound wasn’t a good fit for this new kind of show. In any case, seeing them again after a short hiatus and having such a great time was an absolute thrill.
Full Setlist:
Dead and Gone
Next Girl
Run Right Back
Same Old Thing
Gold on the Ceiling
It’s Up to You Now
Strange Times
Nova Baby
Leavin’ Trunk
Too Afraid to Love You
A Girl Like You (Edwyn Collins cover)
Money Maker
Howlin’ for You
Gotta Get Away
She’s Long Gone
Fever
Tighten Up
Your Touch
Lonely Boy
Encore:
Turn Blue
Little Black Submarines
I Got Mine