Dan Auerbach's Performance Doesn't Leave Torontonians Singing The Blues

Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Nov 7 2009

Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

11/09/2009 4:35pm

Saturday night's show at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre was an example of some of the great music that's come out of the American south. Or at least an example of music's debt to the southern United States.

The south has been stereotypically portrayed as being backward and ignorant, but let's be honest: Rock 'n' roll and popular music owe everything to the southern states, considering rock 'n' roll is itself a bastardized pairing of country and blues.

Those were the two styles that were on display Saturday night as Black Keys singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach rolled into town with Nashville singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle (Steve Earle's son, if it matters to you) in tow. Of course, Auerbach's from Ohio, which isn't the south, but his music definitely draws from old school Delta blues and swamp rock.

Kent, Ohio singer/songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield (who sings on Auerbach's Keep It Hid debut) opened the early show, which, surprisingly, wasn't empty despite the 5:30 p.m. doors and her early start time of 6 p.m. Unfortunately, while she got some polite applause, most of her country tunes sound the same.

There was a huge rush towards the stage when Earle came on. This was his third time playing Toronto in the last year-and-a-half, and the guy has garnered quite the following. He had childhood friend and mandolin/banjo player Corey Younts with him the last two times he was here, but was this time unaccompanied. You had to wonder if he could pull it off by himself, but that soon became a pretty ridiculous question.

Earle may only be 27 years old and really only has just started his music career, but he already has a commanding stage presence. He had the entire audience whooping and hollering from the start as he ran through songs from last year's The Good Life and this year's Midnight At The Movies.

The banter with Younts has been a big part of Earle's stage show in the past, but he managed to pull it off by himself. The evening's best remark came before "Mama's Eyes," in which he said "My mama could whoop your ass! She's got three inches reach on any man here!" to tons of laughter before launching into the song. He's done this joke before, but it never gets old.

Auerbach took the stage very soon after Earle had finished his set and began playing "Trouble Weighs A Ton" before launching into "I Want Some More," both from his Keep It Hid solo debut.

Auerbach's superb musicianship, along with that of his backing band, The Fast Five (consisting of the entirety of San Antonio band Hacienda and My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan), was apparent from the start, but some truly astounding moments were had when percussionist Jaime Villanueva joined Hallahan on separate drum kits. This wasn't your average blues rock — it was the kind of bombast you'd normally expect to see in a stadium.

The set was flawless, and saw Auerbach and The Fast Five play almost all of Keep It Hid. It also consisted of covers of Rockin' Horse's "Oh Carol, I'm So Sad" and The Animals' "Inside Looking Out."

Auerbach and company stuck to the same setlist they've played at most of their North American shows this year. One could argue it's easy to look effortless when playing the same songs, but it's also easy to screw things up if you aren't paying attention and that didn't happen here.

While the show went by extremely quickly and was finished by 8:30 p.m. (the Phoenix becomes a rock/dance club on Saturday nights beginning at 9 p.m.), it was an enjoyable night that showed just how much debt rock 'n' roll owes to the blues.