The Black Keys to headline the Pyramid Rock Festival, New Years Eve 2008

It’s recently been announced that The Black Keys will head back to Australia in 2008 to headline the New Years Eve Pyramid Rock Festival that is held over 2 days from 30 December 2008 to January 1 2009 at Phillip Island (near Melbourne), Australia.

This is great news for Australian fans of the band who recently saw them on their June tour this year. This is the second year in a row the band have played the festival, so they obviously think it’s an alright kind of a place to spend their New Year.

There’s a great line up of bands scheduled for the festival. Methinks the organisers might have been reading my Black Keys dream post earlier this year when planning their bands for the festival (probably not, but hey I’m allowed to dream!).  I wrote that my ultimate gig would be The Black Keys supported by Fat Freddys Drop, maybe even doing a duet.  The festival organisers have gone one step further, however, and included Salmonella Dub and The Black Seeds on the bill as well! They are all such complimentary bands although different genres.

Ahh, so much to look forward to when you’ve got a wandering mind!

Read Full Post »

The Black Keys Google Knol

I’ve set up set up a dedicated Black Keys Google Knol that’s open to anyone to add content to. Check it out here http://knol.google.com/k/bruce-thurlow/the-black-keys/3npdmshx3ro02/2#.

Not too much there at the moment but it’s set up as an open collaboration project. You only need to have a Google account to submit content.

I posted the details to the Black Keys forum too so hopefully the fans out there get knolling and take control over how they want their band represented.

A knol is Google’s own version (pretty much) like Wikipedia or Mahalo.  Get knolling!

Read Full Post »

The Black Keys “Stack Shot Billy” Live In Sydney 2008

This is the final video I took at the Sydney show earlier this year that I went to.

It’s not necessarily my favourite song and I thought the quality wasn’t that great when I first viewed it, but then after watching it again recently I really think it’s the best one I captured that night.

It’s a bit of an extended jam and because the guitar and drums aren’t so loud the sound quality doesn’t distort too badly and it’s really memorable.  Notably, bathed in red stage light throughout, Dan displays some subtle guitar moves and Pat pulls some awesome drummer faces.  I really like it for those reasons and more so because I’ve been able to to capture both Pat and Dan in the same frame for much of the song.

Read Full Post »

Who’s the Black Keys’ Roadie?

At the recent Sydney 21 June Black Keys concert I went to, I remember watching the Roadie setting up their gear, checking the microphones and guitars and drums before the band hit the stage.  I also remember watching him standing silently from the side of the stage throughout the show.  But most of all I remember his beard and thinking he looked like Dan’s elder brother.

When I got home and later looked at the photos I had taken on the night I looked at this photo (below) quickly.  A few days later I looked at the images again and I was drawn to the mysterious presence of the Roadie on the side of the stage (in green shirt) looking kind of sinister. You’ll also see him in most of the videos I’ve posted from this gig (more to come).

He just seems like an interesting fella with a story to tell and I want to know more.

Let me know if you know who he is and what his story is.

Read Full Post »