If someone started an endangered species list for rock bands, I’m convinced that Akron, Ohio’s own The Black Keys would find a place near the top. I say that because, walking out of their recent set at Town Ballroom, I couldn’t help but feel as if I had just witnessed a dying breed among today’s barren musical terrain. Here was a voraciously tight duo whose melodic flavor blended the lush vocal inflection of 70s soul with the turbulent, all-or-nothing stage presence of Nirvana to create the type of visceral garage rock many critics thought had disappeared with the onset of the new millennium.
Vocalist/Guitarist Dan Auerbach plays a distortion-heavy brand of blues that oozes with raw sensuality and drummer Patrick Carney attacks the skins like it’s the last time he’ll ever set foot on the stage, so they’ve taken a minimalist formula and fashioned it into something the mainstream finally deems worthy of praise.
Their latest album, “Brothers,” has become a critical darling as of late and the hit single “Tighten Up” has led the once-relevant Vh1 to jump all over it like they’ve been on-board from the beginning.
I suppose grossly overdue attention is better than none at all, but perhaps The Black Keys are better off averting the whirlwind that is commercial manipulation. Maybe their claim to fame lies in modest concert halls where they can polish their skills, engage fans and save the music from being robbed of its authenticity by a suit who believes Justin Bieber represents the future of the industry.
On that note, what I really wanted to do here is pay homage to past two-piece bands that have made the type of mark on the scene that The Black Keys are on their way to making. I’ll give my list with hopes that you’ll fill in the blanks with your own favorites, so let’s see what you got.
No genre is off limits.
Simon and Garfunkel
Steely Dan
The White Stripes
Hall and Oates
The Ting Tings
Outkast
The Righteous Brothers
Daft Punk
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