Their current slate of NYC-centered activities all began with a free Microsoft Kin sponsored show on Saturday May 15 in Tribeca and will include an opening gig at the first of two sold out Pearl Jam concerts taking place in The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. Then it is time for some national exposure consisting of a pair of late-night television performances on The Late Show with David Letterman (May 25) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (May 26), both of which film in Midtown Manhattan.

While those events are certainly very exciting and prestigious for the band, one of the most interesting engagements is an intimate benefit performance on May 19 for Housing Works, a NYC non-profit charity that is fighting both homelessness and AIDS, at their SoHo-based Bookstore Café (126 Crosby Street, New York, NY). Corresponding with this “Live From Home” concert series performance, an exclusive Black Keys pop-up store will be open for three days, book-ending the aforementioned benefit and taking place at the same location.

Walking down Crosby Street to the Bookstore Café, signs in the windows are very visible indicating ‘Brothers’ has finally dropped. As I entered the store, I heard Blakroc playing out of the speakers and saw even more signage stating that this unassuming and charming bookstore has now been considerably taken over by The Black Keys. Their merchandise occupies up a modest amount of area, about a quarter of the main floor’s selling space. Also decorating the upstairs railings are huge photos that are featured in the deluxe edition of the new album.

A wide variety of products are available including CDs, DVDs, LPs, 45s, t-shirts, hats, and an even the Attack & Release koozie. Of course, tons of copies of ‘Brothers’ are waiting to be purchased, in all three editions (CD, double-LP, and Deluxe CD), and are given the most real estate. Prices at the store are very good and on-par with the band’s own web store, but let’s not forget that a portion of proceeds benefit Housing Works, so even if it is a little pricier than a major seller, it is for a great cause.  A few items stuck out at me: first, there was a handful of copies of the elusive, limited edition of 200, Devo/Black Keys Akron split 7” that was offered as a bonus via their announced Record Store Day 2010 12” single; secondly, the lithograph poster from the benefit performance taking place at the Café on May 19; and finally, many t-shirts that are currently not for sale on the band’s web store.

All and all, this “pop-up” store is a nice and unique tie-in The Black Keys/Nonesuch where able to pull together. Some fans will certainly be rewarded by making the trip downtown during the next three days if looking for the band’s catalog in all tangible formats, clothing merchandise, or even a rare vinyl product. If you are in NYC, or surrounding area, check out the store and buy some Keys merchandise to help support Housing Works.

Related posts:

1. The Black Keys’ Record Store Day Surprise 2010
2. Black Keys Tour T-Shirt 2008-09
3. The Black Keys T Shirt Sale

2008

The Black Keys (almost) became part of a mainstream consciousness.From Letterman to Lollapalooza the band must have played more shows in 2008 than any other year. It seems Dan and Pat have been on the road constantly. Across the States, Europe, Australia (twice) and elsewhere.

They are certainly getting themselves out there but I for one fear burn out. Geez, they both have wives who I’m sure would love to see them more.

The new Attack & Release album came out to almost universal praise. It was a landmark in that it was so strong and diverse after the ‘OK but  more of the same’ nature of Magic Potion. It’s opened more ears than any other. All the DIY recording over the years seemed to be expressed so well in th is big studio sound album.

Attack and Release seems to be on so many peoples ‘Top Albums of 2008′ lists. Everyone also talks about the hip hop production connection of Danger Mouse on the album yet The Black  Keys have always loved hip hop and the Wu-Tang Clan specifically. And, correct me if I’m wrong, but their first album The Big Come Up remains the only album to feature samples.

Busy as they are the band has still found time to variously start their own label, found their own recording studio and help produce numerous up and coming bands we’ll no doubt hear alot more from in 2009.

The year was neatly wrapped and packaged by the new Crystal Ballroom Live DVD. It really showcased the breadth of sound, confidence and musical command of the band.

The band has always had a respect for grass roots poster art and publicity and we’ve covered this quite a bit this year. The new Black Keys official website leveraged off their album artwork and provided a strong identity.

As popular as they get Dan and Pat still have a real approachable quality to their personalities, wear Converse, and talk about fast food in more interviews than all other bands combined.

2009?

I’m still hopeful The RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan will produce the next album.

Who knows where Dan’s solo project will lead.  I can only think it will be positive for the band to take a break. But then again it seems when the creative juices are flowing you’ve got to bottle them as fast as possible before the mojo vanishes as fast as it could previously be pumped.

Prediction: Dan will shave his beard off. Just like Liam Finn did after my post about their hairy visage.

Hopefully someone will answer my question about who is The Black Keys Roadie?

Hopefully all these questions and more will be answered if I can get an interview with the band when they arrive in Australia in early 2009. Come what may I’ll still be jibbering on about them in 2009.

Have a safe and prosperous Festive Season.

Related posts:

1. 2009: The Black Keys Year In Review
2. Review: The Black Keys @ The Pyramid Rock Festival New Years Eve 2008
3. Review: Black Keys gig, Sydney, 21 June 2008

******
In anticipation of (hopefully) doing an interview with the Black Keys when they make it to Australia, I thought I’d start a list of possible questions. I’ll continue adding to this list in the weeks ahead.

Feel free to leave a comment with a question(s) you’d like to ask so they can be added to the list.

Annoyingly (for me at least), fans are always beholden to music journalists or radio/tv hosts for insights but they invariably aren’t the biggest fans of the band or are just interested in idle chatter about nothing much except Dan and Pat’s interest in fast food.

Here’s a chance to ask some (mainly) music oriented questions – the music after all is why we all love the band and became fans in the first place.

The questions:

Update 6 March 09. Ahh the questions were a bit lame. I’ve got a heap more, but not for publication until I get an interview.

Related posts:

1. Interview Questions I'd Ask The Black Keys
2. Why The Black Keys Should Do An Interview With Me
3. Strange Black Keys Triple J radio interview

Gavin Murray recently won a double pass in a competition on this website to see The Black Keys and Dr. Dog at the Converse Century Concert Series show in San Francisco on 30 October 2008.

Gavin got to meet Dan and Pat before the show. At the show he got a custom poster designed by Converse 1HUND(RED) Artists shoe collaborator Meghan Berckes which was given to all concert-goers.

Gavin got his poster signed by Dan and Pat and you can see Pat has done a good job at defacing his likeness on the poster.

Gavin has been kind enough to do a review of the show for The Black Keys Fan Lounge:

“After the release of Attack and Release, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Black Keys live performance. Luckily for me, it was the classic two man distortion injected blues I’ve come to know and love, but until now had never had the privilege of seeing in person.

Dan and Pat took the stage humbly, as if they didn’t know they possessed the talent and raw rocktastic (its a word, look it up!) abilities to draw in a sold out show to the Fillmore, and with few words commenced the show. Dan’s Rickenbacker beautiful white against his humble attire sounded magnificent through his unique amp set up. Pat’s furious drumming and Dan’s moaning guitar created the energetic, soulful blues that the band is known for, getting more out of a two man group than many can get out of a trio or even a quartet.

It was a treat to see the Black Keys pull off their new songs in the tradition of their earlier albums, Strange Times sounded magnificent, and my personal favorite song from Attack and Release, Psychotic Girl, opened up their encore with an intensity I’d never heard in the song before (I’ll admit a part of me did miss the banjo though.) Their visitations to their old work were astounding, bringing the Sonics’ classic Have Love Will Travel to life and their hit Set You Free to live ferocity as the fans sang along. From beginning to end the show rocked.

The opening band, Dr. Dog, held their own as well, creating blues-stomping infused indie-rock sound in the a somewhat soulful folky vain, an apt opening to an amazing show.

Meeting the Black Keys was only overshadowed by the opportunity to see them live. To anyone who has the chance to see either of these great bands, do so, and don?t think twice about it.”

Gavin’s photos below, that’s him next to Dan. See more in the Flickr stream on the side of this post including some other professional images taken on the night:

Related posts:

1. Free Tickets to The Black Keys San Francisco Concert, 30 October 2008
2. Review: Dan Auerbach @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 9 April 2009
3. 2008: The Black Keys Year In Review

Here’s three more you may have missed.

The first two are with the usual taciturn Pat at Lollapalooza this year.  Both cover recent the recent album production and as usual Pat’s taste in fast food. Maybe I should run a competition to spot the interview where Dan and Pat don’t talk about fast food?

The last video interview below features Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers sharing his love for all things Black Keys. Dan is present but more interested in Rick Rubin’s bicycle. Maybe Rick Rubin can find time to produce the next album? Rick Rubin loves hip hop and heavy guitars after all.  No doubt it will be discussed when they meet up on the ZZ Top project.

Pat:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1DqkWetb0s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5WGbT9KvI4

Dan:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryKR9bCYm8Q

Related posts:

1. Maybe Why Patrick Talks About Fast Food A Lot In Interviews?
2. The Black Keys National Public Radio Interviews
3. O Lord, please stop the kwazy Black Keys interviews

******************************

The Black Keys Fan Lounge have 2 x double passes to give away to The Black Keys and Dr. Dog  concert on October 30th, 2008, at The Fillmore in San Francisco, USA.

But wait there’s more! Each pair of tickets includes a Meet and Greet with the band prior to the show! An amazing opportunity not to be missed.

The concert is Sold Out so this is probably the only way you will be able to get tickets.

HOW TO WIN: Simply leave a comment on this post explaining why you love the The Black Keys.

THE WINNERS: The best 2 comments will be selected as winners.  Winners, if they wish, will also able to have their review and photos of the show published on this website.

COMPETITION CLOSES: Midnight, Tuesday 28 October, 2008.

YOU MUST: Be able to collect the tickets personally in San Francisco. Winners will be contacted by email (make sure you leave your email address with your Comment) on Tuesday about how and where in San Francisco to collect your tickets and wristband for the Meet and Greet.

The concert will be the last of the Converse Century Concert Series designed to bring intimate gigs to fans at a reduced price. Tickets were only US$10 for this event.

The series also included shows in Philadelphia featuring Sonic Youth and The Hold Steady; Chicago featuring N.E.R.D and Bad Brains.; and San Diego featuring Social Distortion and the Reverend Horton Heat.

Don’t sit there reading this, post your comment now and win!

A photo of my mate’s Chuck Taylor’s for good measure below.

Related posts:

1. Review: The Black Keys @ The Fillmore, San Francisco
2. Black Keys Sydney Concert Tickets
3. Black Keys Melbourne Concert Tickets

*****

Readers of this site will recall my half-hearted and failed quest for an interview with The Black Keys earlier this year. The questions I proposed asking, and was ambitious enough to publish in advance, weren’t so witty in retrospect (well, my girlfriend told me as much). No wonder the band didn’t have time for me, or at least their Management who I emailed.

Nevertheless, I hereby declare my quest to interview The Black Keys re-started!

With the Black Keys playing in in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia, on January 11 2009, I’m cautiously hopeful the lads will grant me an audience. Stay tuned for more foolhardy, plaintive and demeaning attempts at getting an interview here at this site.

Reasons why the Black Keys should grant me an interview in Melbourne 2009:

1. I’ve already bought tickets for the upcoming Melbourne concert (front row no less) so it’s not as if I’m trying to get free tickets.

2. There are no other really dedicated Black Keys fan sites, outside of their own Black Keys Forum, promoting the band like this site does.

3. I take this opportunity to apologise for taking video at their Sydney concert against their recording guidelines. Hey, I’ll buy the upcoming live DVD in any case to make up for it.

6. I’ve promoted Black Keys tour dates including secret shows and have always linked to legitimate Black Keys ticket sellers.

7. I’ve popularised a number of lesser known Black Keys links and musings for fans of the band in my posts – hopefully there’s a few more fans for the band out there now.

8. This blog is completely not for profit and there’s no advertising on the site. Few if any music sites who cover Black Keys news, reviews and concerts can make similar claims. I just love the band – that’s why I started this blog and want to do the interview.

9. I’ve been to 5 Black Keys concerts already. The January 2009 show will be my 6th. Consider an interview a token reward for dedication if that sort of thing makes you feel better.

10. I’m not a stalker and just like the music. Honest.

11. I promise not to ask dumb questions on camera and I’ll even let Dan and Pat choose which ones they want to answer. Hey, we don’t even have to call it an interview, I’m happy to hang out.

12. If Quinnstorm can get a video interview backstage (respect) and video it on his camera, I’m figuring there’s no reason the band aren’t open to me doing an interview or something similar.

Dan and Pat, any chance?

Related posts:

1. Questions To Ask The Black Keys (if I get an interview)
2. Cool Video Interview With Dan Auerbach
3. What It's Like To Interview Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys

I came across a short report about the making of the “Just Got To Be” video by a journalist at Ohio.com.  I hadn’t seen it before even though its been out since the Magic Potion album came out in 2007. It’s an interesting snippet of the video making process with a bit of the usual banter between Dan, Pat and interviewer. I love the slow motion guitar flourishes Dan puts in for the video making. They make sense in the finished version.

The making of:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1ku78hcWU

Final version:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBPGm4Fbo0Q

Related posts:

1. More Interviews with The Black Keys
2. Strange Times Live Video
3. Video: Watch ‘Tighten Up’ Off The Black Keys’ Album ‘Brothers’

Whilst investigating, I was surprised to come across more than a few references to the RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan in interviews. Importantly, some were very recent.

Considering the amount of discussion in reviews about the band working with hip hop producer Danger Mouse on the Attack and Release record, it seems this long held admiration for the RZA/Wu-Tang Clan and hip hop has been overlooked by many. For mind, it has many implications for their future direction and collaborations.

I was interested to read that right from the time of The Big Come Up release, the band had name-checked the RZA. As Dan commented in this November 2003 interview and article:

“When we started playing…we wanted everything to sound like RZA produced it, like Wu Tang,” Auerbach says. RZA, the Clan’s producer, is given a great deal of credit for the group’s unique flavor, a noteworthy point since Carney serves not only as the Keys’ drummer, but also as the producer.

The Wu-Tang Clan can even be credited for partly-defining the band’s distictive sound. As Dan explained in this 2005 interview:

“We never intended to sound the way we do,” he said -meaning they never intended to have a sloppy stomp as their signature beat. “When we were 16 and 17 we loved hip-hop and the Wu Tang Clan and those big thumps were all we knew how to play. I tried to take guitar lessons but I hated it and I realized I didn’t want to start some guitar band.”

Pat is a big fan of hip hop and RZA’s work (“Pat hates the blues,” Auerbach says) and notably first asked Danger Mouse to produce the latest record.

Fast forward to 2008, while discussing the Danger Mouse collaboration, Dan explained the sound of their early work and the hip hop connection again:

“Back then, we wanted to sound like RZA. The first demo we sent out, when we were trying to get a record deal, had samples on it and stuff like that, intros and outros, so we always liked that kind of music.”

Now, more tellingly for understanding where Pat and Dan’s heads are at in 2008 (if this is possible), in this recent September 24, 2008, interview Dan commented:

“We would love to work with RZA,” he said. “I don’t know if that would ever happen or if it’s even possible.”
“Listening to those records, we really wanted to make records that sounded like that,” he said.

Interestingly, Dan also commented in this September 25, 2008, interview about the sound of the next record:

“Right now, it’s like there are no rules or boundaries out there for us,” Auerbach says. “We can kind of do whatever we want. And I think that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

So, will the Black Keys be the next big thing in hip hop? Will the RZA produce the next album? Well, I’ve seen it before when artists drop the names of people they wish to work with in the press and collaborations eventuate. The band obviously have a desire to fully imagine their hip hop sensibilities in recorded music.  Clearly the Attack and Release has been their most popular release and their evolved sound has moved them to headline status. I for one won’t be surprised if on the next record I see a notable production credit on at least one track from the RZA. Got to think it’ll be something that’s been a long time coming and nobody should be surprised. No doubt it will be worth the wait.

Related posts:

1. Who Will Produce The Next Black Keys Album?
2. 2008: The Black Keys Year In Review
3. The Black Keys, Jim Jones, Mos Def Recording Together?

My photos are by no means the best, amateur equipment under the low light doesn’t help, but they give a feel for a Sydney concert I went to.

I thought I’d list a few links to some of the better dedicated Black Keys sets on Flickr:

- cadd’s photo set from a 2006 live gig

- cadd’s 2007 Glasgow live set

- beezeebeebee’s photo set (50+ images)

- jberg’s NYC photo set

- marianne’s photo set from an amsterdam show

- matthiaskrueger1′s set of knust germany show photos

Have you got some awesome photos of the band? Why not put them on Flickr so all fans can see them?

Here’s my favourite photo of Pat below. There’s something about the stage lights, drumming frenzy and punters’ heads in the foreground that sum up a concert moment.

Related posts:

1. Dan Auerbach and the Fast 5 Concert Photos
2. Dan Auerbach Concert Ticket and Live Show Reviews
3. Free Tickets to The Black Keys San Francisco Concert, 30 October 2008