Bringing the blues: Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney at T in the Park Pic: © Drew Farrell
Ah, the joys of getting your stages mixed up during a festival. On this particular occasion it means that I miss the first five minutes of The Black Keys. Oh, and instead of being tucked safely inside a cosy tent, I'm now left exposed to the elements in front of the Radio 1/NME Stage, just as I've heard about a weather warning that 12 hours of heavy rain is just about to commence. Woooooo!
Not that vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney care too much about the latest forecasts, though. Before the duo known to the world as The Black Keys bring on a bassist for some new material, they kick into The Brakes, jagged rootsy riffs busting themselves up beautifully against an incessant backbeat, creating a sound weighty enough that any extra instrumentation seems unnecessary. However, once the man known as Dan takes to the stage, it does seem as though operating as a three-piece affords an extra deftness to their superior blues rock stomp.
Hmm, it seems they might not have been wrong about that downpour, as the drizzle builds up to a steady shower. Still, the pounding Next Girl provides a good reason to toughen up and get on with watching some damned fine music - which is exactly what I do. (Well, after pulling on my wellies, slipping into the waterproof trousers and jacket, and sticking up the old umbrella, at least. It’s a partial victory.)
Pretty much every aspect of The Black Keys’ oeuvre could be summed up using the words pounding, thumping and stomping - though these more primal aspects are honed skilfully into something far more satisfying than is the case for other similar bands, at time resembling a slightly less psychotic Queens of the Stone Age, though they remain just about as unhinged.
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Bassist Dan leave the stage after only his second show with The Black Keys - he apparently no second name, just like Prince and Kylie. I blame the parents, personally. As Auerbach puts it, he endured “a trial by fire”; I’m guessing that “a trial by heavy drizzle” didn’t have the same ring to it.
The intimate dynamic between the main pair is again sparked into life again for an enjoyable insistent Your Touch and finally the fierce focussed intent of I Got Mine, guitar, drums and vocals stacking up into a few minutes of glorious, monolithic riffage as the weather seems to lighten up slightly. Indeed, if I didn't know any better I'd say The Black Keys just stopped the rain in its track, and at T in the Park that’s no mean achievment.
