There was some local infighting among promoters to bring this heavily buzzed garage-blues act to Tampa. Skipper’s won out, and so did the people. The Black Keys don’t get mainstream radio play, but their word-of-mouth must be good, because the crowd of nearly a thousand at the Skipperdome hummed with anticipation. Singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach, whose laconic demeanor during a Planet interview suggested he might be a shoegazer type, played with animated verve, stomping and flinging his dirty-blonde mane about. Drummer Patrick Carney flailed away. It was just the two of ’em. And even though the Keys kept the volume a bit too low (because of noise-level restrictions in Skippers’ neighborhood), they delivered a tight, powerhouse blues-rock set that clocked in at just over an hour. The guys from Akron, Ohio, definitely left us wanting more, but no one felt shortchanged. www.theblackkeys.com.
