Black Keys :: Live in London [Live Music Review]

Nickerless, guest blogger and User Interface Designer extraordinaire, is based in London, England

I eventually didn't mind that my work bud admitted to "scraping the barrel" before asking me if I'd join him for a Black Keys gig. He had bought two tickets to go see them and had asked everything wearing a skirt and/or a bra, then all those in jockstraps before finally turning to the guy next to him - me - and saying, "I don't suppose you are free tonight?" Well I was... but blowed if I actually knew who The Black Keys were.

They were playing at the Carling Academy Brixton in South London, a venue I'd never been to before, but one which draws in a lot of great bands like the Killers, Primal Scream and The Raconteurs. Despite the reputation South London has, especially Brixton, I wasn't stabbed when i got out of the tube. This made me happy. The venue was awesome though. Like most London gig venues, it was an old stage theatre but this had a huge stalls area and a large balcony. It seemed almost twice the size of some of the other venues I'd been to, like Koko and Astoria (which is soon to be knocked down). The guys at the mixing desk had done themselves proud also as the quality of the sound in there was mint.

I hadn't heard The Black Keys before but after one song I was smitten. This is Blues-rock as it should be - not that I'd really known what it was supposed to be in the first place, mind you. I imagined it was probably what Jack White of White Stripes fame would want to sound like if only he had a decent drummer backing him up. But these guys had so much coming through in their music - a little bit of Hendrix in the riffs, the gravelly voice from ZZ Top, and a dash of Queens of the Stone Age. It was really impressive how much noise just two guys could make using a guitar and drums (but I guess the huge bank of speakers helped).

I was also impressed at how Patrick Carney, the drummer, was able to fit behind his kit considering how tall he was when he stood up (well, he looked tall next to Dan Auerbach).

I've spent a bit of today listening to some of their stuff off their MySpace page and it seems quite subdued compared to what I heard last night. These guys were having so much fun on stage. I highly recommend you check them out.

Photo courtesy of Culturebully