The Black Keys @ Place Bell▪

Circa 2010, The Black Keys were just about the coolest band on the planet. After years of being ignored, their 6th record Brothers broke through to the mainstream, and they were everywhere, even beer commercials; I still can’t hear Tighten Up without craving a cold one. I remember a couple of buddies buying an Osheaga day ticket just for their 10-song set, and then leaving right after! Truly the hottest alternative band on the planet that year.

16 years later, and of course things have changed, and their star doesn’t shine quite as brightly. The chaos of their cancelled tour in 2024, the criticism for playing a controversial “America Loves Crypto” concert event that very same year, the private life of drummer Patrick Carney (especially in relation to wife Michelle Branch)… all of these things could easily have obliterated their career by now. Instead, here they are, close to filling Place Bell, despite not headlining in Montreal since 2014. Clearly, they’re not going away any time soon!

It’s a triumphant return too, feeling like a Greatest Hits set across the hour and 40 minutes. The nostalgia hits from the beginning, the set opening with the bluesy I Got Mine from their 2008 Attack & Release record, Patrick and frontman Dan Auerbach at the front of the stage with a 5-piece backing band behind, below a retro Black Keys sign spelled out in lightbulbs. Fever is slowed down a little, an interesting changeup for sure, before Gold On The Ceiling gets everyone in the seats to their feet. The iconic Howling For You has the same effect a few songs later, though the crowd has a habit of sitting right back down afterwards. I kinda hate that; it feels like you’re saying the other songs are not worthy? I’d rather stand all night, or sit all night, but the constant up-down feels like a diss every time you sit back down. And there’s nothing you can do about it; if you don’t sit too, you’re blocking the view of the person sat behind you, and nobody wants to be that guy. Grr.

With such a deep discography, there are lots of those “oh-yeah-this-song!!!” moments through the show. Next Girl is every bit as sleazy as I remember, feeling even more so under those dim orange stage lights, culminating in a mammoth solo by Dan. Lo/Hi and Wild Child are similar flashback moments. Of the 18 songs in the set, 3 are covers, which, although excellent and fitting the sound perfectly, does seem a lot for a band who have 14 albums of their own. Well, technically 13, since new record Peaches! is all covers, but even then, only 1 of the 3 covers played tonight is on that record. Some bona fide classics from their catalogue like Your Touch no longer feature in the set anymore, which is a shame; surely every fan would prefer to hear that instead of a cover…

The band choose not to lean into theatrics for the stage setup, with even the video projections at the back of the stage usually just the odd swirling pattern or something. A huge glitter ball drops from the ceiling on Everlasting Light, spraying light beams around Place Bell, which looks awesome, and is greeted by a sea of cellphone lights in return. Dan is impressed, beckoning all to “PUT YOUR LIGHTS UP!” again during the delicate acoustic intro to Little Black Submarines, which still sounds absolutely colossal when the song mutates into that churning rock juggernaut halfway through. The same can be said for the outro of Tighten Up; timeless stuff. Suddenly I need a cold one again…

The show closes with the monstrous Lonely Boy, and a huge section of the floor bouncing away the last of their energy. Despite the crowd gripes and excess cover versions, it’s a great return for The Black Keys; hopefully it’s not another 12 years before we can do it again!