By Haile Lidow
Staff Writer
On Sept. 27, the Black Keys’ duo Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney entranced an appreciative audience, filling the Hollywood Palladium with powerful guitar riffs and bluesy vocals that came to life on stage.
While the show was sold out, when the clock hit 7 p.m., the line to enter was shockingly short, hardly wrapping itself around the block on Sunset Boulevard.
As the opening bands (groovy surf rock sextet The Growlers and psychedelic singer/songwriter Nicole Atkins) began, the crowd grew increasingly passionate and immersed in the power of the music. Although each of the openers was a pleasant surprise, the anticipation for the Black Keys was palpable and was growing just as quickly as the crowd, which soon filled the entire venue with little room to spare.
When the previously garage-based band entered the lit stage, the crowd welcomed them with screams and applause. This only grew louder and more passionate when the two musicians began with one of their older recordings and immediately blew away the masses.
Auerbach, the band’s vocalist/guitarist, and Carney, the talented drummer, played off each other, reacting to the audience while constantly staying on the same wavelength as one another. The ability of these two individuals to both fill the venue and to immerse the crowd in their powerful and deep music was stunning. The audience was thrown into a state of hypnosis lasting the entire show.
When Nick Movshon (bass) and Leon Michels (keyboard) entered the stage joining the two original Keys, it signaled the beginning of a set filled with songs from their newest album, “Brothers,” which was released in May 2010. Of the songs played were standouts including “Everlasting Light” and the crowd-favorite “Tighten Up,” which Auerbach took to a new level of genius with tangent guitar riffs of pure funk and Hendrix-style effects.
After a torrent of sound and emotion, Auerbach bid the crowd goodnight, sparking a roar that could only be met by an encore. The band granted the overwhelming wish and returned to the stage with the tracks “Too Afraid to Love You” and “Your Touch.”
Only once the Black Keys left the stage for the final time did the crowd, ears ringing and faces locked in an expression of awe and happiness, slowly begin to pour out of the venue and pile into their cars. The Black Keys left an impression on the crowd that will never be forgotten and an enthusiasm sure to last well beyond the concert.
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