Black Keys (Special Guest Post)

Last night my sister Sally Kemp got to see the Black Keys in what sounds like an awesome setting. Since I won't be attending any of the literally hundreds of shows around Middle Tennessee this weekend (Bonnaroo, Fanfair) I reckon a review of an out of town event will do the trick. Without further ado, here is her account of the Keys in Indy.

Last night we went to the long awaited Black Keys show at the Lawn at the White River State Park. The park is downtown and in the summer, they set up a stage for shows. It was our first time to see a show there and we were not disappointed!
We arrived to an already full venue and found a spot on the lawn that would later accommodate the 12 of us. The first opener was someone I wasn't familiar with: Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea. While we missed most of her set, what we did hear of her bluesy rock set was surprisingly pleasant and interesting.
The second opening act was none other than Booker T. Jones and again, I wasn't super familiar with his stuff but did recognize a few of his songs and, was glad to listen to the legend's set.
Finally it was time for the headliners and when Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney took the stage, the crowd went wild. For awhile, it was just the two of them rocking through some of their older stuff, including "Thickfreakness",and "Girl Is On My Mind." They covered the Kinks' "Act Nice and Gentle," and then the rest of the band came out and they launched into "Everlasting Light" off of "Brothers." I was really impressed that they made it through six songs before the band came out and they started playing the hits. Both Auerbach and Carney are such good musicians that we didn't even miss hearing the other instruments.
They got through the obvious song choices, "Next Girl," "Howlin' for You," and "Tighten Up," and then played some of my faves from "Brothers" and "Attack and Release." At one point, Booker T came out and joined them on the organ for "Ten Cent Pistol" and "I'll Be Your Man," which was really cool.
When they announced that they were going to play just a few more songs, we were all surprised as it seemed like they were just getting going. They ended the set with "I Got Mine," which I loved hearing since that's Amos' favorite song and we regularly rock out to it in the car!
Thankfully, they gave us an encore, playing "Sinister Kid," (my favorite) and "Your Touch." They left the stage leaving us hungry for more but we knew that they were probably pretty tired after having delivered such a rockin' show. They were good performers, but in the sense that they loved music and love playing their songs together.
Overall, I loved it. They played well and hit every note spot on. It was great being outside on a summer night and I loved seeing them play and loved dancing with our friends.