The Black Keys "Live at Beachland Tavern March 31, 2002" (2022)
For Record Store Day 2023, the Black Keys will issue a limited edition vinyl EP documenting their first concert from 2002. Live at Beachland Tavern March 31, 2002 will be limited to 5,000 copies, and pressed on tangerine-colored vinyl. The EP was previously available as an exclusive item from the duo's webstore in November 2022, and was limited to 1,500 black vinyl copies.
This record captures the very first live performance by the duo of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums), which took place in Cleveland, Ohio two months before the release of their indie debut album The Big Come Up. This set does not exactly have the same type of dirty blues sound of that basement-recorded debut album. The venue may have been small, but the Akron-based duo sounded very much above ground. If you're expecting a White Stripes-like garage-rock sound, you may be surprised by the relative sophistication of the short set, which features disciplined playing that is not drenched in heavy reverb. It sounds more like the work of a no-nonsense variation of the Grateful Dead; imagine if the Dead's Bob Weir and one of the Dead's drummers got together in a small club, and kicked out the jams in favor of a lean and to-the-point blues-rocking approach. During this 23-minute set, Auerbach and Carney performed eight songs, two of which were blues covers (the Southern-fried "Busted" was based on R.L. Burnside's "Skinny Woman") but most of which were originals that turned up on the Keys' early releases. On numbers such as "The Moan" and Junior Kimbrough's "Do The Rump", it is hard to believe that only two men were generating so much sound, without coming across as being overly aggressive. The Black Keys were still several years away from mainstream recognition when this show was performed, but they were already well-deserving of their eventual success.
The Black Keys "Live at Beachland Tavern March 31, 2002" (Nonesuch/Easy Eye Sound 075597908695) 2022
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. Busted
2. I'm For You
3. Do the Rump
4. I'll Be Your Man
Side B:
5. Yearnin'
6. No Trust
7. Them Eyes
8. The Moan
This record captures the very first live performance by the duo of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums), which took place in Cleveland, Ohio two months before the release of their indie debut album The Big Come Up. This set does not exactly have the same type of dirty blues sound of that basement-recorded debut album. The venue may have been small, but the Akron-based duo sounded very much above ground. If you're expecting a White Stripes-like garage-rock sound, you may be surprised by the relative sophistication of the short set, which features disciplined playing that is not drenched in heavy reverb. It sounds more like the work of a no-nonsense variation of the Grateful Dead; imagine if the Dead's Bob Weir and one of the Dead's drummers got together in a small club, and kicked out the jams in favor of a lean and to-the-point blues-rocking approach. During this 23-minute set, Auerbach and Carney performed eight songs, two of which were blues covers (the Southern-fried "Busted" was based on R.L. Burnside's "Skinny Woman") but most of which were originals that turned up on the Keys' early releases. On numbers such as "The Moan" and Junior Kimbrough's "Do The Rump", it is hard to believe that only two men were generating so much sound, without coming across as being overly aggressive. The Black Keys were still several years away from mainstream recognition when this show was performed, but they were already well-deserving of their eventual success.
The Black Keys "Live at Beachland Tavern March 31, 2002" (Nonesuch/Easy Eye Sound 075597908695) 2022
Track Listing:
Side A:
1. Busted
2. I'm For You
3. Do the Rump
4. I'll Be Your Man
Side B:
5. Yearnin'
6. No Trust
7. Them Eyes
8. The Moan
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