The Black Keys Balance Arena-rock Hits and Vintage Cool Blues Numbers at Edgefield in Troutdale, OR (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

The last few years have been somewhat humbling for The Black Keys as they have shifted gears – not necessarily by choice – from riding high as an arena rock act to moving into smaller venues and returning to their blues-obsessed roots. You can hear this all over their new album Peaches!, which is loaded with covers from the Hill Country Blues greats they idolized as a scrappy guitarist-drummer duo in Akron, Ohio, twenty-five years ago. For many diehard fans, this is a welcome return to form similar to 2021’s Delta Kream, and hence the name of their Peaches ’n Kream Tour. While some bands may be deterred by scaling down, the Keys seem to be embracing this rootsy era. On Wednesday, May 28th, the band kicked off the next leg of the tour and also kicked off the busy summer concert season at the Edgefield amphitheater just outside Portland, Oregon in Troutdale.

From the opening notes of “Heavy Soul” with impressive dual guitar shredding from frontman Dan Auerbach and Barrie Cadogan, it was clear that even if the arena rock days are behind the Keys, the expansive sound most surely is not. What ensued was over ninety minutes of tight, high-octane blues-soaked rock. The rolling thunder of “Gold on the Ceiling” pulled people into the pit with its raw power, while “Have Love Will Travel” was loaded with a fuzzy and fierce guitar force before the slowed-down and slightly more soulful-than-normal “Tighten Up.” The addition of the criminally underrated musical everyman Jimbo Mathus to the current lineup is a wise choice for the band, and he had his first moment in the spotlight when he unloaded a heavy dose of organ on “Just Couldn’t Tie Me Down,” complemented by Auerbach and Cadogan’s blues guitar battles and a stomping beat. Mathus would add plenty of soulful color with his vibrant keys throughout the performance. 

Throughout the set, the band jumped between raucous fare and easygoing groovers well-suited to the venue’s bucolic setting. “It’s Nice to Get Stoned” was a dreamy summer appetizer with Auerbach layering in some choice licks of Neil Young-style guitar grit, and the psych-rock glory of “Lo/Hi” cruising right into a chugging, slow-burning take on the classic tune “Not Fade Away” were standout moments. Other covers off Peaches!, like the timeless blues blaster “You To Lose” and a smoldering version of “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire,” showcased the Keys’ uncanny ability to tap into a beefed-up juke joint sound. The loose and groovy “Wild Child” was also a highlight of the set.     

Leaving the stage to massive applause, the band quickly returned to run through a trio of some of their most beloved earlier tunes. “Little Black Submarines,” “Everlasting Light,” and “Lonely Boy” all hit like dynamite, giving the fans a proper run-through of some of the tunes that put this band on the map. Twenty-five years in, The Black Keys still seem to be having fun playing together. With the right balance of hit-making arena rock and vintage cool, their performance at Edgefield was a testament to their ferocity and longevity. 

All photos by Greg Homolka