Live Review: The Black Keys, Royal Headache

Fans dedicated to getting a good position on the GA hill form an orderly queue from 6pm as mammoth dragonflies swoop in. There's also heaps of thrips in the grass, which is no good if you're wearing flip-flops. The forecasted rain seems to be holding off on this balmy evening though, and that's a bonus.  

Recent Jägermeister Independent Music Award winners in the Best Independent Album category, for their self-titled debut, Sydney's Royal Headache are scheduled to warm up the stage tonight. Early into their set, singer Shogun is annoyed by the lack of audience reaction, stressing, “I took two weeks off work for this”. This band's set at Boogie earlier in the year is still oft talked about and so this scribe's expectations are high. Apart from looking like they all shop at Rivers, the band also look out of their depth on this massive stage where there's a rather large physical distance from their audience. Probably not ideal for what they bring. Shogun looks at the ground so much that we suspect he has lyrical cheat notes taped there. When you catch yourself looking over a twosome seated in the row in front's shoulders to check out the pics they're looking at on Facebook, it can't be a good sign. And whether or not it's their 'thing' (bassist Joe Sukit's choice of performing with his back to the crowd already caused controversy in Sydney), all band members actually look like they're over it. And all bums remain on seats in the Bowl. 

The venue's roadies and stagehands embrace dressing up for Halloween, mostly resembling members of Kiss with a ghoulish twist. Love Police's BT, dressed like James Young, welcomes The Black Keys to the stage via an old-school intro. All are immediately on their feet as frontman Dan Auerbach coaxes, “Let's get it moving, okay!?” Yes, with an interrobang. The other member of the classic line-up of The Black Keys, drummer Patrick Carney, pummels a glittery, striped drum kit that is very showbiz. Opener Howlin' For You motivates a dude six rows behind us to supply such enthusiastic “da-da-da-DA-da”s throughout that he constantly pulls focus – tinnitus alert for those in his immediate vicinity. Placing the drummer alongside the frontman downstage makes for an interesting configuration and two extra members fatten this duo up to a quartet when required this evening. Despite the extra guitarist's choice of double-necked beast, Auerbach still dominates with his conventional instrument. There's blinding spotlights directed at the crowd and at times this staging is a bit slick for The Black Keys sound – they don't need to make such an effort while presenting their authentic-sounding blues-bending catalogue. Geez, Dead And Gone sounds a lot like Mary by Sparkadia! Gold On The Ceiling brings the swagger and would make an awesome entrance song. The keys call to mind The Addams Family and Auerbach's guitar sounds so filthy it would make a nun moist.

The Black Keys play music you'd prefer not to have to dance in front of your seat to; it demands a thrashing, sweaty mosh. It's also pretty hard to listen to these tunes without wrinkling up your nose (in a good way). About three quarters in, we're thinking, “Where's Lonely Boy? Is this it?” as each song commences. Oh, come on! You thought it, too, but just don't wanna own up to it for fear of sounding uncool. Then in it comes in. And it's so worth the wait. We dance even crazier than ole mate from the video and the only thing that could improve the experience is if Deb 'Spoons' Perry joined them onstage. Seriously. The encore can't match the excitement of the main set closer and the overall verdict is: great but not mind blowing. (And we still reckon they're soft for cancelling their 2011 Big Day Out tour 'cause they were tired.)