On Thursday, July 16th Chicago was blanketed with thick smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Its air-quality was the worst in the world and outdoor events were cancelled or postponed due to public health concerns. After performing a pop-up show at Chicago’s Vic Theater the night before, the Black Keys were scheduled to bring their Peaches N Kream tour to a larger audience at the Salt Shed’s Fairgrounds, an amazing outdoor space on the Chicago River with incredible views of the skyline. But, with oppressive smoke shutting down the city, there was no way an outdoor show could go on. The decision was made to reschedule for two nights inside “The Shed” on October 20th and 21st, which would be the final stops on a tour that began back in April.
Fittingly, Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney and company blew down to Chicago by way of Canada, where they had played a few provinces, including a stop at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre. But, although they were wrapping up a long, six-month tour that included a swing through Europe, they still came to play for the capacity crowd packed inside the old, converted Morton Salt factory. They also brought along Eddie 9 Volt (Eddie 9V) as their opening act. Like other supporting artists on the tour, Eddie 9V is with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound label and this up-and-comer’s signature sound fits perfectly with the Black Keys’ musical mission.
In a nod to Chicago’s own Blues Brothers, Eddie 9V seemed to be on his own “mission from God” as he was busy making the rounds and appearing on the WGN Morning News, doing a pop-up show for radio station, WXRT, and making a pilgrimage to Mr. Beef. Although he is originally from Georgia, he certainly looked like a local as he came out on stage sporting a Colson Loveland Chicago Bears jersey. He was accompanied by his real-life brother, Lane Kelly on bass along with Chad Mason on keyboards and David Green on drums.
Eddie 9V’s first release from Easy Eye Sound, Down Here, drops on November 6th so it tracked that “Whole Lot Coming for You” was the first song the band played for an enthusiastic audience. “Can I Sleep in Your Backyard,” and the aptly titled “Blowin’ Up” from Down Here also got the crowd going.
During his relatively short turn on stage, Eddie 9V wasted no time professing his love for Chicago blues as he proclaimed, “this is a blues town so might as well play some notes,” before running through riffs reminiscent of local blues luminaries like Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Jimmy Reed. He also went back to 2021 and “3AM in Chicago” and introduced it as “a song I wrote when I first came to this beautiful city.” In a testament to Eddie 9V’s growing popularity with Chicago music fans, he gave a shout out to “many familiar faces” in the audience before heading out to the lobby to interact with the crowd.
After Eddie 9V left the stage, the crowd was treated to an incredibly diverse deep-cut playlist. After hearing everything from “Down on the Street” by the Stooges to Aretha Franklin’s “Eleanor Rigby,” the energy was high, and the audience was ready to see the headliners on deck mix it up with their own mélange of musical influences ranging from Hill Country blues and classic psych-rock to punk, hip-hop, and vintage soul.
Their stage set-up was also a throwback with a marquee “Black Keys” sign behind the band, but Carney’s drum set was positioned up front near his long-time friend and bandmate, Auerbach. The pair’s connection dates to their childhood days in Akron, Ohio, when they lived around the corner from each other. The first Black Keys album, The Big Come Up, was released in 2002 with a prolific outcome of thirteen more releases to follow over the years.
With such an extensive catalog, the Black Keys had plenty of great material to cover during their time on stage. They kicked it off with “I Got Mine” from 2008’s Attack and Release. This was followed by “Fever” from the 2014 release Turn Blue. They also dug deep into their 2010 Brothers album with six tracks. (“Everlasting Light,” “Howlin’ for You,” “Next Girl,” “She’s Long Gone,” “Ten Cent Pistol,” and “Tighten Up.”). Although many songs from Brothers were used in commercials for everything from Honda CR-V cars to Molson beer, the band mixed these songs up enough to make them sound fresh and relevant, albeit still recognizable.
The extra wall of sound was boosted by an excellent touring band. This tight unit included Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie) on electric guitar and Andy Gabbard on bass. Rounding out this crew were Chris St. Hillaire on percussion/backing vocals and Jimbo Mathis on Farfisa organ and harmonica. Mathis also played keyboards on the Peaches album so perhaps the one downside of this show is that the band didn’t delve into enough Mississippi Hill Country blues, but with such a vast catalog and fans clamoring for the “hits,” it’s understandable.
They did break out one memorable song from Peaches when they brought back Eddie 9V to do a scorching version of Earl Hooker’s “You Got to Lose.” After this sizzler, they ripped into a well-received “Tighten Up” before taking on a cover version of the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “She’s Long Gone” before exiting the stage. Of course, the crowd wasn’t about to let the band fade to black after such a red-hot show, so the Black Keys came back for an encore of “Little Black Submarines” and “Lonely Boy.” Both songs had the packed house singing along. Sadly, it was soon time for the Black Keys to leave and wrap up their extended tour, but it was wonderful to see these well-seasoned musicians play this rescheduled show at the historic Salt Shed.
