For many fans the only thing better than following a band is meeting them. That’s fair enough but it needn’t always be the goal.
I used to think it was really important as a fan to meet The Black Keys. And it was until I met them. It was a very brief meeting after hanging around outside a venue long after a show had finished. Dan and Pat were as friendly and down to earth as those who had met them had reported. The ‘experience’, a fumbled conversation, was even better than I had expected.
Now I don’t think it as important to try and meet the band at any opportunity. It’s now the idea of the band and all they represent that is seemingly more important. Arguably, it always was and I just didn’t realise it.
Ever since I met the band I’ve also thought about what I’d say or do if I met Dan or Pat again. I really don’t want to stumble over words and grin happily and little more again. In the unlikely event I’d meet them again, I’d thought about it a lot prior to travelling to New York where I was to see the The Black Keys’ three concerts.
I had struck a bit of a conumdrum because since meeting The Black Keys the experience had also clarified a number of thoughts:
- A fan by definition can only ever exist as an observer of the subject – from a distance as an outsider
- A band owes a fan nothing more than the same respect as the fan pays it
- This is an outsider fan site interested in an outsider band
- Healthily, I know I can’t be Dan or Pat’s friend
These points are just the deal you make and need to accept as a fan.
It was therefore a confronting experience when I baulked at an opportunity to meet Dan and Pat in New York. Some spontaneous kindness allowed me to be backstage after a show. I was right there, they were right there, in the same room. I couldn’t explain it at the time, or really justify not introducing myself.
You know what the sun’s all about when you fly too close.
I think it boils down to facing the greatest fear of any fan, and more so if you are silly enough to start a fan site: what if the band doesn’t like you or your site? I imagine there can be nothing more lonely than liking a band or having a fan site about a band that doesn’t like you.
But as I walked away from the venue all this was a great realisation. It was liberating and peaceful. Not meeting Dan and Pat when I could have was a release from being too attached to the idea of wanting the band to appreciate your appreciation.
If anyone can understand this emotion of being a fan it’s probably Dan Auerbach.
On the plane home from New York I was thinking about when a teenage Dan and his Dad, Chuck, drove 16 hours to see Junior Kimbrough play live. Dan, of course, was and is a massive fan of Kimbrough’s music. Junior was too ill and not playing when they arrived at the small town show though the rest of his family band was. As Chuck tells the story, Dan was even asked to play with the band, but he declined.
Chuck Auerbach talks about the trip to see Junior KimbroughI’m wondering if the experience for Dan, then and ongoing, was more powerful because he didn’t meet Junior? It would have been amazing to have met him, but it was probably as influential that he didn’t. As a fan, Dan had to internalise the experience and reflect upon what Junior really meant to him. Similarly, to use Chuck’s sentiment, faced with an opportunity I was never going to admit this site was good enough for the band to find it worthy – or not.
Then on the plane home from New York something else happened. I had a dream about The Black Keys.
It’s been a while since I’ve had a dream about The Black Keys. I’m not the only one, it’s a common experience as a fan to dream about that which you admire.
The dream went like this:
I’m at this country outback gathering, looking post-apocalyptic, like a Mad Max film set. Dan Auerbach is playing guitar with a local house band. He plays for like 6 hours – 12am to 6am. It’s non-stop, just in the groove. I have the feeling I’m not meant to be at the show, just happen to be randomly out there.
When Dan finally leaves the stage, not really stage more the middle of a field, he’s looking really drained, sweaty and very pale. Dan wanders up to the bar and is waiting there to be served.
I walk over and say “Hey Dan, great show.” He turns, looks me straight in the eye and says, “Hey Brucini?”
“Yes?” I say, surprised. “Cool” says Dan. “You coming to all the shows?” I turn a bit sheepish and say I just happened to be at this one.
I then say to Dan, “You are looking very pale, dehydrated. I’ve got some electrolyte drink supplements for water if you want them.”
Dan looks at me, scans the scene and politely says “Do you think they’ll mind?” I reply, I’m thinking huh? it’s only a common drink supplement, “Mate, you can do anything you want out here.”
This dream got me thinking.
Maybe I actually did want to meet Dan and Pat much more than I would care to admit? Probably. One thing is for sure, unexpectedly meeting Dan in a field at 6am and offering a re-hydrating drink supplement would have been and would be a much easier way to meet. Maybe if I had a donut handy for Patrick too I’d be sorted.
I now look forward again to any future opportunity.
Related posts:
- Two Year Anniversary of The Black Keys Fan Lounge
- Backstage With The Black Keys
- What Type Of Fan Of The Black Keys Are You?
- A Black Keys Fan On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
- One Year Anniversary Of The Black Keys Fan Lounge Fan Forum / Message Board
Want to discuss The Black Keys with other fans? Check out The Black Keys Fan Lounge Forum here
Nice post dude, i think personally i would be best not meeting my heroes. not because i would ever be disappointed, im old enough to realise that they probably don’t really give two bells about a fan. But if i met them i would want to be remembered, i would want to think i could become a friend. so through that sense it would lead to a weird inside tanglement. all in all it would be better to keep the mystique and not know what these people are really like or what they stand for (goes for any band) one dream i had with the keys involved us driving along side their mini bus and they were lost, so we directed them to where they were going (conveniently Liverpool [btw im made up they are playing liverpool... chuck or brandy did you have anything to do with that after i posted in here that they've never played there and they should come see the sights
and thats its the best city in the UK, plus home to the beatles' cavern... i jest i jest]) in the end we took them for a few drinks and it was me n my band and just remember havin a belter of a night. n we ended up stayin in touch n i ended up recording in dans studio. i dont think anything major came from it, but i remember feelin awesome that i had had that experience. then i woke up 
haha ive had a similar dream about Springsteen he invites me over to america to record n then i open for him or summin. mad feelin an disappointin in the mornin lol! man those dreams sound so homo, but im sure others have had similar things! bromantic wet dreams LOL i’m most certainly jokin with that one!
Having had my own fumbly but pleasant meeting with Dan, I appreciate this post very much.
I’ve wondered the same sort of things about Dan never getting to meet Junior. I always find the inclusion of Mildred Kimbrough’s phone message at the end of Chulahoma very touching.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by brucini and LC , Black Keys News Feed. Black Keys News Feed said: RT @blackkeysfans: New Blog Post: Reflections On Not Meeting The Black Keys #theblackkeys http://bit.ly/buMQmF [...]
try being a fan of a fansite. i have dreams about TBKFL.. major can of worms there..
Ah that was a fine post Brucini. I’m feelin ya man!
Great post. I’ve found myself getting wrapped up in the idea of meeting them…and this really put in in perspective for me. (Although it would be really nice and make me really happy:)
I met one of my heroes at Bonnaroo 2008. Jim James. It was at the silent disco, not before or after one of his shows, so he was kinda just another guy in that moment. I didn’t recognize anyone else in the tent recognizing him. He was with half a dozen of his friends (none of which were bandmates) and having a great time dancing. I kinda worked my way into his group and introduced myself. He was really cool and took a picture with me. He was moderately drunk, as was I, and I offered him a pull of Jim Beam from my flask. With a big grin, he took the flask drank a bit. We danced for a bit longer and finally parted ways. It was about as good an experience as you can expect. The booze helped and gave us something to bond on a bit. That was Friday night. The following night was Saturday and MMJ’s epic 4 hour rain-drenched set. Through a completely different set of circumstances, I was able to be on stage for the entire show. I spent the entire 45 minute break (due to rain) on the side of the stage cutting up and smoking with Zach Galifianakis, another of my idols. I had been following his stand-up career for a long time and we are both from North Carolina, so we a had a lot to talk about. This was 2008 and was a year before The Hangover came out so he was still a relative nobody to most people. It was hands-down one of the best weekends of my life. I met 2 of my idols, I didn’t feel like a creepy fan, and neither of them let me down. I hope for the same for everyone else.
I stumbled on this fan site because I’m going to the TBK show in Charlotte tomorrow night and wanted to brush up on Chop and Change (Haven’t been able to bring myself to buy the Twilight soundtrack for one song). They are opening for KOL so it will be a pretty quick set, but they don’t play for long even when they headline. Great site (and post).
This just made me tear up a little. It was so brave and honest to post all of that. And your dream sequence had me laughing so hard.
I then say to Dan, “You are looking very pale, dehydrated. I’ve got some electrolyte drink supplements for water if you want them.”
Random, thoughtful, and hilarious!