Recorded in Cre-8 studios in Jewel & Esk College
Live Review – The Black Keys at The Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
2010’s Brothers album and their recent seventh album El Camino has made The Black Keys one of the biggest bands in the world, indeed the Corn Exchange show was sold out within days. Part of their appeal is to do with the aforementioned albums broadening out their heavy swamp blues sound to take in everything from glam rock on their Gold on the Ceiling to the Northern Soul of Dead and Gone both of which feature on El Camino.
The Black Keys don’t mess around and in just under an hour they cover songs from all their albums including Thickfreakness and Girl is on My Mind from their Rubber Factory set. It’s when the additional musicians who add some bass and keys to the mix depart the stage that you get the band at their most primal. I’m reminded of how raw and skuzzy the band can be when they power into their earlier material as Dan Auerbach’s blues holler does battle with Patrick Carney’s huge beats.
The band’s encore includes Everlasting Light and She’s Long Gone from their Brothers album and the crowd show their approval. It’s all over too soon as two of the most unlikeliest of pop stars leave the stage and onto another sold out show.
Posted by Paul, 28th March, 2012
Nature Boys Live at Cre-8
One of the pleasures of listening to the Nature Boys is catching a half heard phrase or lyric and wondering if you heard it correctly. Did lead singer Cammy really just sing:
“There’s no defence from the plethora of drunken honeyeyed words. The once great empire of Carthage comes crashing tumbling to her knees”
Yes he did. The Nature Boys are a punk band and a very entertaining one at that but they also have hidden depths. Along with Cammy’s literary allusions, guitarist Mark Cooper is also a motivational speaker and ultra runner. Live their performances kick an appropriate amount of derriere but what makes then special is that they can leave you smiling too. Smiling and possibly slightly scared, and what more do you want from a rock n roll band?