The roadies must love these two-piece blues outfits coming to town. And, like London buses, you wait long enough and then several turn up etc, etc…. So, the week The White Stripes blow the roof off Alexandra Palace their cousins from Akron, Ohio roll into town. The drummer has the legend 'Rockimus Maximus' scrawled over his bass skin.
Comparisons between The Black Keys and The White Stripes are both inevitable and unenviable. Inevitable because, well, there's two of 'em and not a bass guitar in sight – unenviable because The Stripes are a lot to live up to (not to mention their God-given PR campaign).
Unfortunately, tonight the tag is more curse than blessing. Despite playing a lean set of taut blues workouts The Black Keys do little to justify their current hype. Whereas Jack and Meg can find limitless possibilities in this music Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney remain stuck on a dusty old backroad. Auerbach in particular, though obviously a guitarist of considerable virtuosity, just hasn't the charisma or voice to carry his own songs. Husky and authentic on record he remains an anonymous and unengaging figure; his voice is a bland whisper.
Only occasionally do they rise above the rim. "Heavy Soul" is probably their best effort at the Southern-fried funk they aim to pull off and the cover of The Sonics "Have Love Will Travel" at least has a tune. The rest consists mostly of derivative 12-bar boogie while generously allowing Auerbach a six-string wankfest at every opportunity. Readers of Guitar Tech magazine are no doubt pulling their pony tails in glee. A wretched mauling of The Beatles' "She Said, She Said" is probably the low point.
Had this been any other year it's debatable whether The Black Keys would have made an impact beyond their own backyard. Without the funk and wit of a Jon Spencer or the songs and feminity of The Stripes they're just a fairly good blues band missing a bass player. No more, no less.
Those wanting a true punk blues freakout would be better directed towards the Royal Trux (R.I.P) section of their record store.
