Sure, I had heard of the Black Keys, but that's really all I knew: the name. But when a friend asked me on Sunday night to go to their concert for the following day at Merriweather Post Pavilion, I thought: Why not? I love live music, and my only other plans for that night were to work out, so I cancelled my Pure Barre class to go to the show!
The first act was Ceramic Animal. I had never heard of this band before, but I liked their sound. In looking at their YouTube channel to find videos for this post, I saw that they haven't uploaded many videos at all, with their newest video from two years and the first video from seven years ago. In reading about them, the band is made up of three brothers plus two of their friends, and they self-produced and self-funded their first three albums. So maybe they're an older, scruffy band? Hopefully this tour will help boost things for them! Here are a few of their videos:
The second opener was Band of Horses. Just like with the Black Keys, I had heard their name before, but I couldn't tell you a single song they sing. I also enjoyed their rock 'n' roll sound, and I was particularly enamored with the fox design of their backdrop (in photo above). Why don't they have that on a tank-top?!
And then it was time for the Black Keys! My friend told me that it's really just two guys who are "the" Black Keys, and that they had a blues sound. I definitely could hear the blues influence in their music, but their beats were a little too fast for actual blues dancing, which is my jam. In doing some research, I saw that their bassist Richard Swift passed away in 2018, which is sad. I also learned that their duo name comes from a saying a friend of theirs used to use: he would call people he didn't like "D Flats and Black Keys." I knew black keys was in reference to piano keys, but I didn't get why they would pick that name since the two main guys don't play the keyboard. Now it makes sense!
I think the lead singer looks like an older, less attractive Ewan McGregor.
I was taken aback by the lighting/color effects that were used on the monitors: it was like they were trying to hurt your eyes and make the lead singer (Daniel Auerbach) look as bad as possible, all at the same time! Sometimes it felt like you needed 3D glasses, sometimes it was like looking through blinds, and most of the time the effects enhanced the wrinkles on the lead singer's forehead. Just, why? See what I mean:
But other than those visual notes, I did enjoy their show and their energy. Check out some of their videos:
Little Black Submarines (This was my favorite song of the night, although I wish the whole song were a ballad!)
Even though I wasn't familiar with most of this music, and it's probably not something I would listen to on my own, I still had a lot of fun. Going to a concert is way better than spending a Monday night at home!
*Apologies for my photos: I was taking pictures of the screens as opposed to the actual bands themselves. But I was thankful that we had seats inside the pavilion instead of on the lawn, because there had been a big thunderstorm before the show!
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