Thought I would offer an overall review of last night's show
Really I thought there were two specific themes from the show last night. First, there was an overall looseness to the show that I absolutely loved. Of course, the Black Keys are not a "Jam Band," but last night's set was probably as close to a jam set as we'll probably see from the boys. Busted was the distinct jam I remember from last night and it seemed like a couple others were opened up a little.
The second theme was the difference between the old and new material. In the future, maybe we'll start referring to the keys as Pre-Brothers TBK (or maybe Pre-A&R TBK). Anyways, the Pre-A&R Keys blew the f*ckin roof off last night. ThickFreak kicked off the show and they really didn't look back. Girl on my Mind segued smoothly into 10am Auto and then things really got going. Song number 4 The breaks saw the whole crowd really start to boogie and I think everyone in my section yelled out simultaneously "BACK IN THE DAY!!"
Then came the epic The Breaks > Stack Shot Billy. We saw the two song set open up loose and funky and come to a hard charging crashing end. Something tells me all those stops at the little hippie festivals shaped this one. I was definitely doing my Jam Band dancing. Not to be outdone, Everywhere I go was tight and crisp - sounded just fantastic
Now let's catch our breath for a second. The other musicians came out to join the boys on Strange Times and Same Old Thing. This was kind of a transition part of the set as we all started to anticipate some Brothers. I thought both were relatively flat, but that's probably because the first seven songs were straight smoke.
Now the Brothers set. Tighten Up and Next were both tight and extremely well done. I was kind of hoping Next Girl would turn into a live jam, but I settled for this version. Too Afraid to Love You was surprisingly great. It's one of those songs I skip regularly on the album, but it was a welcome slow little diddy here tonight.
Then came the song many of us were hoping for - Sinister Kid. Honestly it was a little soggy. The bass seemed a little off and I felt like Dan rushed a bit much here. Next was She's long gone and it was another surprisingly good song. I thought this was the best or second best song from the Brothers set. It would have fit in just fine in their filthy first set. They closed out the Brothers set with a really sick 10 cent pistol. Similar to the way they played it on Fallon, this version is a little different from the studio version. Dan has already mastered the vocals on this one and I'l bet it's going to be a live staple.
They ended their formal first set (not to be confused with the smaller sub-set's I've been referring to) with No Trust and I got mine with just the duo out there. As the brothers songs brought on a little lull energy-wise, these two songs kicked everything back up to volume 11. By the time I got mine was over, the consensus in the audience was "Holy f*ck"
Encore time - Everlasting light was really loose and funky. Definitely one of the highlights for me even though Dan's vocals were a little inaudible. They ended the show with the fan-favorite Till I get my way. Hard charging and straight forward, this one brought the house down again.
So what a show. It was the meatiest keys set I've ever seen. They had TONS of energy up there. Pat was an absolute animal on the drums last night. I've never seen someone beat up their kit like that before. Easily the best show the Keys have put on in Minneapolis (at least that I've seen).
See ya'll tonight.
