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Written by Rebecca Carter
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Tuesday, 14 November 2006 |
 Nokia Theater
New York, NY
November 3, 2006
A confused line of fans stretched around the corner in front of The Nokia Theater in Times Square as a few self-important bouncers barked threats of non-admittance at anyone who approached the roped-off line near the entrance. Some wandered around aimlessly, others complained in small groups, but everyone was waiting anxiously to get into see the double Black bill.
The Black Angels opened with “Young Men Dead” from their debut album, Passover, and followed with “Call to Arms.” For the first couple of songs The Black Angels captured the audience with their My Morning Jacket-esque psychedelic country, but the crowd’s love affair with The Angels faded to restlessness as their set proceeded with one long droning song after another.
After a fairly long break between bands, The Black Keys took the stage. As the crowd surged forward, it became even more obvious that the Nokia Theater isn’t the most audience-friendly venue. The majority of the floor area is at the same level as the stage, so unless you’re a good six feet plus in height, you end up spending the show straining to catch a glimpse of the band. It’s a good thing the power-chord duo can make a lot of noise. Guitarist Dan Auerbach’s smoky blues vocal delivery drifted nicely over his feedback-heavy guitar style and drummer Patrick Carney kept time off to the side. Refreshingly, The Black Keys didn’t try to make the stage feel more crowded through forced showmanship (hint hint White Stripes); they simply played and with little banter kept the crowd enthusiastic with the music alone.
The majority of The Black Keys’ set came from their latest album, Magic Potion, but they didn’t forget to throw in a few crowd pleasers from Rubber Factory with “10 A.M. Automatic” and “Stack Shot Billy.” Although their set list was well balanced, it was hard to ignore what was missing, especially considering that The Black Keys have consistently released strong material, five albums worth to date. Some notable absentees of the evening were “Heavy Soul,” “Have Mercy on Me” and “Just Couldn’t Tie Me Down.” But in the end, no one had a problem getting into the new stuff, especially during the laidback “Goodbye Babylon.”
The Black Keys have re-carved the niche once pioneered by ‘70s garage rockers like the New York Dolls and T. Rex. Their live performance fueled the notion that rock music, even when reminiscent of another era, doesn’t need to be re-packaged into something flashy to come back as fresh.
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