Artç&ulture
aced@clackamas. edu
W ednesday, May 16, 2012
The Clackamas Print
5
Above photo: Fans rock out the soothing melodies o f the Slack Keys during their performance a t the Rose Garden on M ay 7: The band members stand on the stage in order
fro m left J o right Patrick Carney, Gus Seyffert, D an Auerbach a n d John Clement Wood. Bottom photo: Singer D an Auerbach belts o u t the tu n esw ith his melodic singing
style during th e song “L ittle Black Submarine. ” ;
Black Keys don’t fall flat at the Rose Garden
By Isaac Soper
A rts & C ulture E ditor
If there is one rock concert to
see in your lifetime, let it be the
Black Keys. Considered by m an y '
to be the “new Led Zeppelin,”
they will not disappoint. T he
Black Keys performed in Portland
in the Rose Garden on May 7f *
it was their first performance iri,
Oregon since their performance
at the Crystal Ballroom in 2010.
Arctic Monkeys opened, which
makes one wonder now an agent
picks out opening bands. The
artists weren’t similar at all, other
than the fact that they played
instruments.
During the opening act, the
light technician for the Arctic
Monkeys thought it would be a I
good idea to give die entire crowd
o f the Rose Garden a fit of epilepsy
by having a constant white strobe
light flashing in everyone’s face.
TheBlackKeysplaybluesyrock,
while the chilly chimps seemed to
play a variety o f alternative metal,
using Phil Spektors old “wall o f
sound” technique, as opposed to
crafting something enjoyable and
discernable.
One of the lyrics that were
actually discernible said “Dog-
shit rock and roll,” which wasn’t
too far off from the first5 half
o f their set. T he majority o f the
sound they produced had lyrics
with Zebrahead speed and mushy
metal instrumentals.
Later on, one of their songs
was a b it more likeable, similar
to ‘90s hard rock band Alice in
Chains.
“Are there any ladies, out, there
Portland who like screamin’?!”
asked Alec Turner, front-man for
of pictures, making the concert
feel like a non-stop (arid well
made) music video. Their use of
old photographs and 35m m film
that appeared to be melting was
As the set went on, the Keys
played some songs from their new
album “El Camino,” including a
“Stairway; to Heaveri’-esque song
entided “Little Black Submarine,”
the Arctic Monkeys. H e then led
rantâstic.
w h ic h s t a r t s o f f as arT acA risT fcsong
bis band through some moreyefy :
fast paced songs that evolved (or
devolved) from metal into punk-
metal. Next up, they brought an
organ into die mix for a'pleasing
five or six seconds, and then the
pain returned.
Finally, another song was
l d that didn’t make ones ears
. It was the best one yet, in a
tasteful maj or key— almost a pop/
punk song. O nce departed from
their metal, the Arctic Monkeys
were actually enjoyable, sounding
similar t o ‘90s alternative rock.
“Do you- like rock arid.1 roll,
Portland?” Turner asked. T he
drummer, M att Helders sang a
song and his intentions were made
dear — he wanted to rock and
roll. This was discovered through
his multiple, uses o f the phrase “I
want to rock arid rqll”^
After a half-hour break, the ’
Black Keys emerged on the
stage. They began their set with
“Howlin’ For You,” off of their
“Brothers” album. The audience
howled with excitement.
Whoever was running the
lights for the Black Keys was
incredible. They added so much
to the shovvj opposed to blinding
everyone and/or. causing seizures.
Along with the lights came video
behind the band, featuring a live-
feed from the stage in an array o f
colors and an ongoing montage
Every instrum ent:. that was
played during the Keys’ set was
crystal clear, while still maintaining
the atom-smashing rock and roll
soundand feel. D uririgm ost live
performances and tours, they have
two other musicians j accompany
them, while in the studio, they
are a two-man rock machine. The
duo consists o f Dan Auerbach
(guitar, vocals) and Patrick
Carney (drums); since 2010, Gus
Seyffert (bass guitar, vocals) and
John Clement W ood (keyboards,
guitar, vocals and percussion) have
accompanied therii ontoilrs.
T hough the,. Black Keys
regularly played along with their
accompaniments, near the middle
o f their terrific set, they broke
away and played a S th e core
duo, starting with the blries song
“Thickffeakness.” |
that breaks and then explodes intp
a-nuclear bomb o f rock and. roll,.
With face melting guitar i solos to
boot.
W hen the main set ended and
the lights began to fade, most of
the crowd stayed, though some
left (apparendy not knowing that
every band in the entire world
does an encore). Those who stuck
around chanted wildly for the
Black .Keys to return, which in
fact they did over a period o f a
few minutes to the crowds great
pleasure.
For
the
finale/encore
performance, two gigantic disco
balls were unveiled causing’
the entire interior of the Rose
Garden arena to be illuminated by
artificial stars, to which the song
“Everlasting Light” was played,
followed by “She’s Long Gone”
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Starting a t 9 p.m.
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and the Earth-shattering “I Got
Mine.” During the final song, an
illuminated marquee displaying
the bands name was lowered from
the ceiling.
Oinrce t l ie ^B laclc' K q re w e n -
finished with their performance,
the entire audience was in an
uproar o f clapping, screaming
and whisding, hoping that their
' ortion o f the cacophony would
e heard by the band. “Get home
safe so we can see you next time
— we’ll be back,” said Auerbach.
T h eir
perform ance • was
unbelievably
good,
which
completely overshadowed the
Arctic Monkeys set, leaving one
in a daze as to whether they even
heard the first set or not. If it
weren’t for the Arctic Monkeys,
the concert, would have gotten
six out o f five possible stars. The
Black Keys are definitely worth
putting onto.your bucket list of
rock bands to see at least once in
your lifetime. |