The Black Keys launched the UK leg of their European tour with sold-out shows in Nottingham Friday and Edinburgh on Saturday. Up next are more sold-out shows in Manchester, followed by a three-night run in London. The Keys got the "crowd rocking madly, a tight mass of bodies punching the air" at Friday's show, notes the Independent in a perfect five-star review. The band has "turned an old-fashioned sound into something timeless," says the Guardian in a four-star review. "As Nottingham roars its approval, it's another fine victory for pop's unlikely lads." STV calls Saturday's show "spectacular."
The Black Keys launched the UK leg of their European tour this weekend with sold-out shows at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham Friday and the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh on Saturday. Up next are more sold-out shows, at the O2 Apollo in Manchester tonight and tomorrow night, followed by a run of three shows at Alexandra Palace in London. Band of Skulls opens.
The Independent gives a perfect five stars to Friday night's show. Reviewer Andy Gill reports that it's the "crunching appeal of riffs like 'Lonely Boy' that have the capacity crowd rocking madly, a tight mass of bodies punching the air with a gleeful assertion that, contrary to the impression given by telly talent shows, rock'n'roll is alive and thriving in the English heartland." Read the five-star concert review at independent.co.uk.
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The Guardian gives the show four stars. Their latest albums, 2010's Grammy-winning Brothers and El Camino, released late last year, "have made them one of the biggest bands in the world," writes the Guardian's Dave Simpson. "On the way, they have broadened their sound, giving their original swampy punk a sparkling new coat. Although Auerbach's vocals are slightly distorted, like an old blues holler, they've turned an old-fashioned sound into something timeless, or at least retro-modern."
Of course, it's that music that's the focus of the show, and "the stars here are the songs," says Simpson. "'Lonely Boy' (with its big fat T Rex riff), 'I Got Mine' and the rest seem to locate an imaginary button that makes grown adults want to play air guitar and perform drum patterns on their knees. As Nottingham roars its approval, it's another fine victory for pop's unlikely lads."
Read the complete four-star review at guardian.co.uk.
The Nottingham Post concurs. "I've always liked the way the Black Keys go about their business. They are blessed with a beautiful, basic brutality and Dan Auerbach's wonderful, vulnerable voice," writes the Post's Steve Mitchell, noting that the band's "thoroughly deserved success has arrived at last."
The arena-sized crowds are joining in the celebration as well. "Roars of recognition greet the newer numbers like 'Tighten Up' and 'Lonely Boy' and it's clear the galvanized hoards of new fans are just loving being hit by the Black Keys," Mitchell reports. "Thankfully, it's clear that their trademark intensity has survived the upgrade."
Read the review at thisisnottingham.co.uk.
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Scotland's STV says the band is "spectacular," in a review of Saturday's show in Edinburgh. "With the venue tense with anticipation for The Black Keys, their explosion onto the stage couldn't come quick enough," reports STV's Kirstin Lynn. Opening with "Howlin' for You," off Brothers, "The sing-a-long riff instantly shook the Edinburgh crowd into full participation, where they were held for the remainder of the set ... As the show came to a close, the familiar organ riff of latest single 'Lonely Boy' spontaneously whipped the crowd into a last blast of insanity, for a final attempt at whiplash if it hadn't been induced already."
Read the review at stv.tv.
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