Black Keys fan 10am.automatic recently won tickets to see The Black Keys perform live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. This is his review of the experience.

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It was two days before the show and I saw on The Black Keys website a chance to win free tickets to watch the live taping of the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show from the bench seats. I never win anything but I entered my name and sure enough I was sleeping when I got the call saying I won.

I got to New York around 12:30pm and was walking around for a bit taking pictures of Rockefeller Plaza and all the NBC stuff I saw. I wasn’t sure exactly where to go so I asked a lady in the NBC fan shop and I was actually right next to where I needed to be. At 3:45pm everyone there for the show got wristbands and had to wait until 4:30pm to get in.

At 4:40pm everyone who was lined up went upstairs in an elevator and waited in a line again for about 15-20 minutes. When we got in we went through a metal detector and I guess were not allowed to have alcohol nips on me so they took that from me. It wasn’t opened, I just had knowhere else to put it, so the security guards got some free nips.

So everyones inside now and the show started great. A very humorous guy was getting everyone to loosen up a bit and laugh. He was telling us all the rules and to clap and laugh when asked and just to have fun.

The Roots did a great job and have a show to themselves pretty much during the commercials and before the show.

You may have seen the episode by now so everyone knows Jake Gyllenhal and Mario were the special guests. At the end of Mario’s singing, The Black Keys’ bench seat fans all got to go down to the stage. I was two people away from getting right in the back but I was the first one to go up on the side of the stairs where Pat was. Dan and Pat came out along with the bassist and keyboardist. It’s hard to get used to four guys on tour but I guess I’m going to have to.

The first song was Howlin’ For You. It ended up sounding pretty good on tv but if you were there it was hard to hear Dan over the music.

Then they played Next Girl which I thought would have been great to hear but the band only played half of the song. I was kind of disappointed because I thought they could at least finish the song but it wasn’t meant to be.

Lastly, they did the best song I thought – Ten Cent Pistol. Originally I thought this song was going to be shown on tv, and I thought that Next Girl was just a little in between song for the commercial break that no-one would see, but I was wrong. Ten Cent Pistol did not make it on the show but they did release a video of it (see below). Dan’s voice was clear and Pat’s drumming was at a perfect level along with the other guys. I wasn’t expecting to hear that one but it was a pleasant surprise.

This was a great overall show and it’s a memory that I will always hold onto in my mind. The Black Keys are number 3 on the Billboard charts which Jimmy mentioned and it’s a great accomplishment for the band to finally get their dues for all their hard work.

Ten Cent Pistol live on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Related posts:

1. Video: The Black Keys On The Letterman And Fallon Shows 2010
2. Dan Auerbach – When The Night Comes – Live
3. A Dream I Had Last Night About The Black Keys

Blakroc was primarily a recording project for The Black Keys and hip hop MCs. In a live context the songs naturally morph and highlight different aspects of the recorded tracks. Recent performances on The David Letterman show and Jimmy Fallon show were primarily a promotional showcase but they show off the talents of all involved.

Make the most of these Blakroc live performances, since it’s going to be difficult for all those who contributed to be in one place at the same time for a tour and even further performances.

The David Letterman Show – ‘Aint Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)’ featuring The Black Keys, Jim Jones and Mos Def

Mos crooning on red Elvis microphone, Dan hollering backing vocals, Pat with dark glasses, Jim Jones cheerfully rapping.

The Jimmy Fallon show – ‘Dollaz and Sense’ and ‘Telling Me Things’ featuring The Black Keys and RZA

This medley of two tracks that RZA contributed to has a real urgency to it compared to the laidback vibe of the Letterman performance. Dan shakes a maraca and plays guitar at the same time, Pat drums with a tambourine. But the real catalyst is RZA who is clearly enjoying the moment.

Related posts:

1. Video: The Black Keys On The Letterman And Fallon Shows 2010
2. Blakroc: The Black Keys and Blakroc
3. Interview: Jonah Schwartz – Blakroc Videographer