I had loaded three CD’s by the Black Keys into my car’s CD player (Remember those?) for the rainy trip to Chicago on September 27, 2019 to catch them live at the United Center. I had many other albums and EP’s of theirs in mp3 format that I didn’t bother to upload to my phone before the trip because I knew I couldn’t listen to all of them in the two and a half-hour drive to the Windy City. As I listened to Magic Potion, Thickfreakness, and Turn Blue, I couldn’t help but think, “Why has it taken me so long to see these guys live?”
They’d been on my “must-see” list since at least 2011, but I could never make it to any of their tour dates. Lead singer / guitarist Dan Auerbach‘s psychedelic side projects, the Arcs, was scheduled to play at the cancelled 2016 Levitation Austin festival, so I wasn’t even able to catch that band just three years ago.
The stars finally aligned and I was able to get a decent price ticket for a seat at this level of the United Center.
That seat cost just a little more than this bad ass show poster, which most people didn’t seem to be noticing at the merch table I visited.
I didn’t catch the opening band, or even find out who they were, because I was famished by the time I got into the United Center. I munched on a small stuffed pizza (only $8.75, compared to ten bucks for a bag of gourmet popcorn smaller than an average beer stein) while they played. They didn’t sound half-bad.
The second opener was indie rock fan-favorites Modest Mouse. I had no idea what to expect from them, and was surprised to learn they were an eight-person band that included two drummers and a violinist.
They had a lot of fans at the show. I only knew one song they played in their mix of Americana and quirky rock with interesting time signatures. It wasn’t my thing, but their fans loved their set and I saw many people dancing throughout it.
The Black Keys, Mr. Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, came out with two backing guitarists and a bass player. The bass player and one of the backing guitarists (who also sang backing vocals) were brothers Andrew and Zachary Gabbard, and the other backing guitarist was, much to my surprise and delight, Delicate Steve – whose album Till I Burn Up is one of my favorite discoveries of the year.
Opening with an oldie but goodie, “I Got Mine,” they put on a great show mixing stuff from their new record with plenty of cuts from their large back catalogue, like “Gold on the Ceiling” (a crowd favorite) and “Fever.”
“Next Girl” followed, which sounds much heavier live than it does on an album. I have to give a lot of respect to the Black Keys’ touring sound engineers. Dan Auerbach’s guitar tones were crisp and yet had all the right fuzz (and volume!). It sounded great in a large arena, almost like they were playing in a small club. I also love how Auerbach’s guitar is plugged directly into onstage amps instead of using a wireless rig.
“Howlin’ for You” was another crowd favorite, and I was happy to hear “Ten Cent Pistol.” They closed the set with another crowd-pleaser, “Lonely Boy” before heading off stage so their stage crew could set up a giant inflatable electric chair.
This was the set for most of their encore, which included “Lo / Hi,” new single “Go,” and ended with the loud, dirty “She’s Gone.
It was a fun show, and worth the wait. It’s also good to see these two goofy guys filling an arena with people who love rock and blues. They’re calling this the “Let’s Rock” tour. I’m glad. All of us need to rock more.
Keep your mind open.
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