Alright, alright, alright folks, let’s dial back the grandeur and get down to the nitty-gritty of good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll. The Black Keys and Spoon turned up at London’s O2 Arena, and they brought the house down. I’m here to tell you it was a no-frills, straight-up, ear-blistering night of indie rock genius and bluesy grooves that lifted you higher than the contact buzz you got from being on the arena floor.
Let’s kick off with The Black Keys. Their gritty, blues-infused garage rock is like your favourite whiskey—rough and smooth in equal measures. Auerbach’s vocals, man—that guy’s got some soul, along with a bit of the ghost of Muddy Waters in him. And Carney? He lays down a fat groove with a little extra space in between the notes making it just loose enough while keeping the wheels from flying off the musical El Camino. Even though the Keys are at the height of their musical superpowers, let’s not kid ourselves; this is no overnight success story. It is, instead, one of the increasingly rare instances where a band goes from indie buzz band to bonafide shoo-in for the rock ‘n’ roll history books.
In the steel-beating heart of Akron, Ohio, in 2001, a couple of kindred spirits named Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney stumbled into musical alchemy. Picture it: a basement, the smell of old vinyl in the air, and the electrifying embrace of blues and rock. Carney’s got the recording gear, Auerbach’s got the licks and the pipes, and the gods of rock are smiling down on them. The chemistry is so thick you could cut it with a guitar string. Enter The Black Keys—baptized with a name inspired by a buddy’s lingo for the delightfully unhinged.
These guys start their saga with a roll-up-your-sleeves, grit-under-your-fingernails approach. They conjured The Big Come Up, their debut record, and when it hit the streets in 2002, it had critics and fans alike falling head over heels. From there, the duo began touring voraciously and went on to achieve remarkable success, including multiple Grammy awards, as they steadily evolved their sound while staying true to their blues roots.
Fast forward 20 years, and The Black Keys slam back into the scene with Dropout Boogie. This ain’t just an album; it’s an eleventh-hour haymaker from seasoned rock gladiators. Critics? They’re on this one like bees on honey. And you’d better believe the live experience packs just as much firepower.
Enter London’s O2 Arena—this is where the rubber meets the road. A sea of eager fans and the Keys are about to light the fuse on a 20-song powder keg. They serve up a trifecta from Dropout Boogie: “It Ain’t Over,” “Wild Child,” and “Your Team is Looking Good.” Each one’s a firecracker. But the leader of the pack remains the band’s breakthrough, Brothers, with six gems in the set. For me though, it was all about “Lo/Hi,” which I think is the band’s finest moment. An incredible song that begs the question—is this what T.Rex would sound like if Marc Bolan were still alive today?
The Black Keys don’t just play by the book—they’re flipping through the pages of rock history with a couple of covers, tipping their hats and paying homage. And as the night gears up for its grand finale, they crack open the vault and unleash the anthems including “Little Black Submarines” and “Lonely Boy.” As the final notes ring out, it’s like the aftermath of a sonic boom. The Black Keys didn’t just play a set—they took us on a wild ride through the rock ‘n’ roll annals.
We need to talk about Spoon—these guys are criminally underrated. Seriously, why aren’t they headlining arenas themselves at this point? How many more fucking amazing songs do they have to write to break through to the mainstream? Britt Daniel’s voice is the kind of voice that makes you wanna drive down an open highway with the top down, no matter the weather. Their tunes are not only catchy, but they’ve also got a rough, around-the-edges grit to them, giving them this organic feel that lives somewhere between indie and mainstream. (I think that’s the Austin sound if I remember from back when I lived there.) It reminds me of Billy Joel at his best in the ’70s but with smarter lyrics, wrapped in a bit of mystique as to how a band can make this sound entirely their own at this moment.
That setlist from Spoon, folks, it was like a curveball from a crafty southpaw—unpredictable and daring. They shook things up and left some of their heavy hitters in the dugout. I’ve caught Spoon in action more than a few times, and they’ve got a penchant for shuffling the deck, but this night at the O2? It was like they brought a magician’s arsenal for the arena crowd. And I can’t help but wonder if they were making a statement. Where were the usual suspects “The Way We Get By,” “I Turn My Camera On,” or “Hot Thoughts”? MIA, my friends.
But don’t fret, because “Got Nuffin” and “The Underdog” stormed the stage like returning heroes. A little whisper in their ear for “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine” (my personal Spoon holy grail) wouldn’t have gone amiss, though. They brought along a trio from 2022’s Lucifer on the Sofa, but the freshly baked “Memory Dust” EP? Not a peep. And you know what? It didn’t matter. Watching Spoon is like witnessing alchemy—they’ve got that Midas touch. Every note, every riff, every beat—it all turns to solid gold in their hands. I could park myself in front of their stage every day and never tire of the spell they weave with their tunes. They’re not just musicians; they’re rock ‘n’ roll sorcerers.
What’s cool about having these two bands together is that they’re like whiskey and coke—different, but man, do they go well together. The Black Keys give you that raw, untamed sound, and Spoon opens with something just a little smoother to take the edge off. The crowd was eating it up. There were heads bobbing, feet stomping, and voices hoarse from singing along by the night’s end. No lasers, no gimmicks, just pure rock ‘n’ roll. These bands have been around the block, they’ve paid their dues, and they know how to put on a show that gets back to the roots of what makes rock great. This was a night for the true rock ‘n’ roll believers. Hats off to The Black Keys and Spoon for keeping the flame burning.
THE BLACK KEYS
SPOON
