With the swagger of Liam Gallagher and the style of Alex
Turner, the young teens swigged on their cups of Lemonade in between drags on
their stream of cigarettes. As their bodies swayed and their words slurred; I
was in sheer amazement. I had just witnessed 3 budding kids who’d wipe the
floor with Penn and Teller as to become intoxicated off half a pint of bubbles
is astounding. The Black Keys are rock and roll personified. As they took to
the stage they showed these lads and the rest of the packed out Apollo how it’s
done.
Vocalist, Dan Auerbach clad in double denim and drummer,
Patrick Carney looking like a less dashing Clark Kent have such a stage
presence yet they don’t say much, apart from the expected pleasantries, but
they didn’t have to. As cliché as this is, the music did the talking for them.
The first strum of opening track ‘Howlin’ For You’ created a
steady surge of convulsing bodies, then as it slithered in to ‘Next Girl’,
there was an interminable reaction with the crowd chanting
along which was maintained for the duration of their time on stage. But there was one song that shone more than
the rest, ‘Lonely Boy’ created a moment of euphoria and delight as it triggered
an outbreak of the illustrious Carlton-esque grooves. It was as if everyone had
been anticipating this moment and just in case they’d been perfecting their
moves in the mirror. It certainly seemed that way judging by the chirpy chap in
front of me, who required maximum space to perfect his moves, sending his beer
cup flying along with everyone else’s.
Naturally their set was dominated by the breakout success of ‘Brothers’ and the
critically acclaimed, ‘El Camino’, the songs from their latest offering being
received just as rapturously as the rest. The infectious ‘Gold on the Ceiling’
and ‘Little Black Submarines’ started slowly then gained momentum to reach an
eruption of sound proved to be other highlights.
When their touring band left the stage, it was monumental to
see the duo alone where you really experience the furore they create. Carney attacking
the drums as if he was bashing seven shades of shit out of Chad Kroeger and
Auerbach possessing a powerful vocal that reverberated around the Apollo,
clarifying that they are a phenomenally slick band both live and on record.
We’re constantly bombarded with the message that rock music
is dead and apparently so is guitar music but if there were any cynics in crowd
tonight, then the answer was here all along: hanging from the ceiling. ‘The
Black Keys’ placed above the stage, emitted a golden glow as the gritty hooks
of set closer ‘I Got Mine’ ended a solid performance from the Ohio-based
twosome. I don’t think you could get a better wake up call.
Vocalist, Dan Auerbach clad in double denim and drummer,
Patrick Carney looking like a less dashing Clark Kent have such a stage
presence yet they don’t say much, apart from the expected pleasantries, but
they didn’t have to. As cliché as this is, the music did the talking for them.
The first strum of opening track ‘Howlin’ For You’ created a
steady surge of convulsing bodies, then as it slithered in to ‘Next Girl’,
there was an interminable reaction with the crowd chanting
along which was maintained for the duration of their time on stage. But there was one song that shone more than
the rest, ‘Lonely Boy’ created a moment of euphoria and delight as it triggered
an outbreak of the illustrious Carlton-esque grooves. It was as if everyone had
been anticipating this moment and just in case they’d been perfecting their
moves in the mirror. It certainly seemed that way judging by the chirpy chap in
front of me, who required maximum space to perfect his moves, sending his beer
cup flying along with everyone else’s.
Naturally their set was dominated by the breakout success of ‘Brothers’ and the
critically acclaimed, ‘El Camino’, the songs from their latest offering being
received just as rapturously as the rest. The infectious ‘Gold on the Ceiling’
and ‘Little Black Submarines’ started slowly then gained momentum to reach an
eruption of sound proved to be other highlights.
When their touring band left the stage, it was monumental to
see the duo alone where you really experience the furore they create. Carney attacking
the drums as if he was bashing seven shades of shit out of Chad Kroeger and
Auerbach possessing a powerful vocal that reverberated around the Apollo,
clarifying that they are a phenomenally slick band both live and on record.
We’re constantly bombarded with the message that rock music
is dead and apparently so is guitar music but if there were any cynics in crowd
tonight, then the answer was here all along: hanging from the ceiling. ‘The
Black Keys’ placed above the stage, emitted a golden glow as the gritty hooks
of set closer ‘I Got Mine’ ended a solid performance from the Ohio-based
twosome. I don’t think you could get a better wake up call.
No comments:
Post a Comment