The Black Keys

The Black Keys’ new concert DVD reflects the no-frills genius of the drums-and-guitar duo’s studio sound: It’s a refreshingly straightforward video document of their April 4, 2008 sold-out gig at Portland, Oregon’s Crystal Ballroom, featuring seventeen songs culled from all five of the pair’s albums. Director Lance Bangs – who has made videos for the Arcade Fire, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth as well as directing R.E.M.’s Road Movie – keeps his small camera crew focused on the stage, getting up close and sweaty with guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and indefatigable drummer Patrick Carney. Occasionally, he’ll pull back to acknowledge the flannel-shirted, head-bobbing crowd pressed close to the stage, their hands reaching out to Auerbach as he cuts loose with another solo. There are no visual pyrotechnics, no elaborate editing, no backstage cutaways, not even much between-tunes chatter from the band, yet the show is riveting from start to finish. Viewed from such an intimate vantage point, The Black Keys come off even more impressively than on record, managing to summon such a mighty sound using so little. The tenor of the songs is often downbeat and lovelorn, but the feel of the music in that room is nothing less than triumphant.

As Portland’s local paper Willamette Week put it, “The bluesy duo from Akron never let up the whole night, tearing through tracks from its entire catalogue.”

Live at the Crystal Ballroom also features original music videos of “Your Touch,” “Just Got to Be” and “Strange Times,” plus behind the-scenes footage of the making of the Attack and Release album as well as the “Your Touch” video. The live concert can be viewed in its entirety or accessed track by track. This DVD may be just as satisfying, if not downright revelatory, for anyone craving an unadulterated rock sound worthy of being labeled classic right now.