Oh, is this one good. Let me state it outright: if you’ve ever had anything like a casual enjoyment or curiosity about the Black Keys – let alone a full on, one-of-the-best-bands-of-the-last-decade jones for ’em – Black Keys Live at the Crystal Ballroom
But it’s not quite “fun” – it’s great, but not Black Keys great. And the boys have earned the right to be evaluated on a relative scale. Maybe director Lance Bangs’ crispy rendered, no-bullshit attack could have used, for once, a little bit more director involvement – a little something (though something that is not the same as “a little more bullshit”). I found myself wanting to step in to the frame as a viewer and get to something I couldn’t reach; I never moved beyond the feeling that I was merely watching a framed concert of a band I enjoy. I never felt sucked in.
READ ON for the rest of Chad’s review of Black Keys’ DVD…
The Black Keys (Dan Auerbach,Patrick Carney) brought their no-frills blues rock straight from Akron, Ohio to the big city last night, packing a gorgeous venue on the west side with six string blasts and kick drum bombs.
It’s easy to complain that the Keys should play a little bit longer….after 70 minutes they were hitting that peak. But although the show was short with little stage banter, their bygone swamped up rock still knocks em dead loud & live.
Following an opening stint for Radiohead on the American leg of their summer tour, along with the past week’s release of Magic Potion, their debut on Nonesuch Records, the Black Keys have grown up from from their blue collar Akron roots.
Their first two critically lauded albums, 2002
