Thursday night at The Forum, The Black Keys worked up a sweat as they let totally loose in front of their audience of both die-hard and casual fans. They opened their set with “Dead And Gone” from 2011’s ‘El Camino’ and then continued with a top-heavy set of songs mainly from their last three albums. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were backed by Richard Swift and John Wood but The Black Keys were still very much a power-duo. Auerbach’s guitar crunches and shrieks seemed to magically find their way back into Carney’s chest-thumping drums. Together they propelled their overgrown method of garage-blues filling the large space with raucous licks and heavy melodies that were able to strut without the constraints of perfect tempo. “Gold On The Ceiling” and “Strange Times” were big crowd pleasers but there was also a little something for the long-time fans who enjoyed “Leavin’ Trunk” from 2002’s ‘The Big Come Up.’ Glancing across their career, it’s evident that The Black Keys don’t worry too much about reinventing. Rather, they continue with their own blues throw-down of riffy grit and amplified texture and now with their eighth album “Turn Blue” they are perhaps not as raw but just as unabashed. It appears that they barely got to enjoy their full muddy dip into the mainstream before Keys purists started considering the duo’s hookier efforts to be ‘softer’ ones. Nevertheless, their full force at The Forum was very well received as Auerbach shifted around the stage lost in his own solos and Carney sloppily stomped and struck his colorful kit. Mid set, the band performed their Keysian take on Edwin Collin’s “A Girl Like You” with Auerbach crooning in front of his (count ’em) five meticulously angled amps. “Gotta Get Away,” featuring a few seconds of Auerbach at the lap-steel, sounded like straight-forward rock rather than their signature swampy blues cocktail. “Tighten Up” prompted surround-sound whistling and “Lonely Boy” got nearly everyone on their feet. The Black Keys came back for a three song encore starting with “Weight Of Love” followed by “Turn Blue” which boasted Auerbach’s impressive falsetto. The night ended with “Little Black Submarines” – one of their moodiest numbers where Auerbach allowed the entire stadium to take the mic to sing “Everybody knows that a broken heart is blind.”
Photos and review for BUZZBANDS.LA
