(pair of mirrors)

The Black Keys - “Things Ain’t Like They Used to Be” 

As of today, BONNAROO is only 6 weeks away. 6 weeks. That’s right. 42 days and only five mondays. A hop, skip, and a jump, basically. 

And just like last year, and as promised, POM is going into full out Bonnaroo mode. From now until June 9th, nothing but Bonnaroo goodness for your reading pleasure. In brief - this ‘Roo is going to be dirty. Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Dr John andNeil Young take Bonnaroo back to its southern, jam-band roots (and did we mention the return of the Superjam?), while bands like Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and The Decemberists keep Bonnaroo in line with modern rock-n-roll. And then there’s everything in between: Florence and the Machine with her massive windpipes, Iron and Wine with their trademark earthiness, ‘buzzbands’ like Best Coast and Wavves, an entire hip-hop contingent consisting of Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Eminem, Whiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang, and rave-faves like Girl Talk and Bassnectar. Plus, don’t forget Robyn, Explosions in the Sky, Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, and Karen Elson - also known as Jack White’s better half - which means JW will more than likely guest on her set, and bring the Rolling Third Man Record Store along to ‘Roo. 

I know. I just got so excited too. 

To kick of this year’s POM Bonnaroo-parade, I want to talk about one particularly special band - The Black Keys. First I want to apologize, essentially to any person with ears (including M, Dan Auerbach, and likely every singe one of you), because for the longest time I didn’t like The Black Keys. I don’t even understand why, honestly. For someone whose daily diet consists of at least one of White Blood Cells, Led Zeppelin IV, and Harvest, a raw and loose album like Brothers or Attack and Release should have been ideal. But something just didn’t fit with The Black Keys at the very beginning, and then by the time last Bonnaroo came about I had already publicized my lukewarm approach to the band, and ended up forgoing The Black Keys for (an admittedly awesome and confetti-filled) Flaming Lips set. From there until the end of the year I was all “whatever” about the band and the album. But then M picked Brothers as her favourite album of the year, and if you don’t trust you co-blogger musicmate, who do you trust, right? In January I took Brothers for another spin, and it’s been spinning ever since. These days, I’m the biggest Black Keys fan around.

I stayed up until the middle of the night during exam-time to watch the livestream of The Black Keys set at Coachella. That is a big commitment and a major gesture, if you’re not catching my drift. I just can’t get over how sexy the whole thing sounds. People just don’t write lyrics like that anymore, you know? Take “Psychotic Girl” for instance:

I heard you threw your man around
Pick him up just to let him down
It’s a shame, baby, but I always knew
Just the way you’re gonna do, oh

And the guitar riffs…oh my god the guitar riffs. The beginning of “She’s Long Gone” sounds like it’s squarely not from this era, and the first minute of “Unknown Brother” is my favourite minute of guitar mastery since The White Stripes’ “Blue Orchid”. 

And just like watching Jack White kill it at last year’s Bonnaroo made me fall deeply and unequivocally in love with that pale mad hatter’s music (and the man himself, although that is not the stuff for this blog), I think The Black Keys set at Bonnaroo will be a show of equal amazingness. The talent and the power of this band simply oozes from the records, a kind of rare quality which never fails to produce an amazing live performance.  And this year, unlike my last year’s stupid self, I am definitely, 100%, I-don’t-care-if-it’s-hailing, Arcade-Fire-can-wait, ATTENDING The Black Keys’ Bonnaroo set. ‘Cause Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be…

42 Days!

-L