The Black Keys @ Gallivan Plaza 7/16/09
| I first came upon The Black Keys when I read a synopsis of their 2008 album "Attack and Release" in the City Weekly. They had included it with their top 10 albums of 2008. I had yet to by the album when I saw that they would be included in the lineup for this summer's Gallivan Plaza Twilight Concert Series, but the review from months before had stuck with me, so I determined that I would make it a priority to go to this show. This particular show would also make for my first time attending the annual Twilight Series. This is a series of free shows put on by the city of Salt Lake, and held every Thursday throughout the summer at the Gallivan Plaza on 2nd South between Main and State Streets. I had also seen on this summer's schedule that Sonic Youth would be playing the Twilight Series this year as well. I knew I couldn't miss that show and wanted to have had seen at least one show here before seeing them. So this was to also be a bit of a scouting mission so that I would be able to make the most of seeing Sonic Youth a few weeks later. In preparation for the show I finally purchased the "Attack and Release" album about 6 or 8 weeks before the show itself. Boy am I glad i did too! The album quickly became a favorite, and spent more time in my c.d. player than any other during those weeks. For those familiar with The White Stripes the sound here is very familiar, with a stripped down yet rockin' bules/rock sound provided merely by drums, guitar, and vocals. Very impressive stuff! These guys are from Akron, Ohio yet their sound speaks more to the deeper south, and to influences closer to Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, Muddy Waters, and Led Zepplin, than anything from the more pedestrian sounds that might be associated with contemporary Mid-Western "rock and roll." Very impressive, soulful stuff. I didn't know who I would have join me for this show. Derek was out of town and Tee wasn't interested. But fortunately Gary was in town and very interested in going. I had loaned him the "Attack and Release" album several days before hand and he loved it. We went downtown quite early knowing that we would probably do a short pub crawl before settling in at Gallivan. Gary wanted to drive around downtown a bit beforehand, so we eventually found ourselves looking down onto the city and Memory Grove from a parking spot off to the side of the capitol building. It was a beautiful day, so we spent several minutes there talking and soaking up some sun. |
| I already had a plan for parking as we headed down toward Gallivan Plaza. My thought was that we could ideally park in a metered spot just across the street from Bar X, just a half block east of the Plaza. Didn't know if any would be available, but happen to know that there are often spots there that are often ignored for some reason. Sure enough, as we rounded the corner of 2nd South there were about 3 spots open in the exact area I had envisioned. Gary (being from L.A.) was a bit stunned as to how easy that was. We parked and went across the street to have a beer at Bar X before going to the venue. Gary had never been to Bar X, a true dive bar, and one that I've always had a strange affinity for. As we walked across the street I told him of their famous "tankards," huge bowl-like goblets that they sell for $4. Gary asked what kind of beer they sold and I said that I'm sure he would be limited to Bud, Bud Light, and perhaps Coors and/or Pabst Blue Ribbon. He scoffed and said he couldn't drink "bad" beer. I told him that it was just too bad and he would have to suck it up! I jokingly told him: "You just take your fancy pants Hollywood ways and go back to California!" We went to order our beers at the bar and I immediately ordered a tankard of Bud. Gary asked about what other beers they had and received the same answer I had given him moments ago. He hemmed and hawed and said he would think about it for a minute as the bar maid served up my tankard. The temperatures were very hot outside and we were happy to be indoors. In addition that tankard of Bud was about as frosty a beer as one could hope for. Gary stared at my beer for a moment then said: "Ok. I'll have the same." I was proud of him for giving in so easily! We toasted our tankards and took a long draw. Gary's eyes shot open wide. He then looked at me funny and took another drink, looked up again at me and said: "That's easily the best Bud I've had in my life!" After finishing off our tankards we walked over to the venue. It was still very early, but again I wanted to get an idea of the timing and logistics of the concert for reference per the Sonic Youth show. There were people milling about, and the beer and food vendors were operating, but it was still too early to determine just how much it was worth showing up early in order to secure a prime spot. We basically just walked through the width of the plaza and back out the Main Street side where we continued down the street to another of my favorite downtown dive bars, Cheers To You. Gary was finally able to secure himself a "good" beer, Stella Artois, and was a happy camper. He was made even happier by the fact he, at 47 years old, was carded not just once, but THREE times (each time he went out to smoke). I think that this in and of itself made his day! After a couple of drinks we went back to the Plaza to get a bite to eat from one of the vendors there. On our way there we were approached by a couple of 20-something panhandlers, but just as they were starting to ask us for money I pulled out one of my old standby lines and beat them to the punch by saying: "Oh, I was just ready to ask YOU for money!" I said it with a smile and the one guy returned the smile and backed off. But as we continued to walk on his uppity little friend called out to us: "If you talk the talk you better walk the walk." I think I took him by surprise by immediately turning around, walking back to him, and putting out my hand. "Can you spare a dollar?" I asked. He was clearly uncomfortable that I had called his bluff and rummaged around in his pocket. He pulled out 52 cents and put it in my hand saying that would have to do. "If you're going to talk the talk you had better walk the walk" I said as we walked off with his 52 cents. The dirty little street rat didn't know what to say. Gary was laughing out loud saying that was one of the funniest things he had seen in a long time. BTW, I detest panhandlers! If you panhandle me in my own city (most panhandlers here are frauds and not even from Salt Lake) you are going to get an ear full! Once we were amongst the food vendors Gary chose to eat a falafel from a Lebanese vendor and I chose to have a burger from the Acme Burger booth. Both turned out to be pretty bad, with the burger taking WAY too long to be served to me. Fortunately we found a nice little niche to eat our bad food just behind some of the vendors on a clean, comfortable, outdoor stairwell of a nearby building. As we hung out there eating and talking the warm up band (I forget the name) began playing and we soon realized that there was no reason to make our way over to the stage to check them out because they sounded horrible. We eventually began to walk around the plaza and I was shocked by the large size of the crowd. I quickly realized that there was no benefit to showing up early as the main crowd fronting the stage was so thick as to not allow one to claim any spot as one's own. We got a beer and sat around doing some good people watching. After the warm up band had ended we decided to venture into the thick of the crowd with hopes of having a good vantage point for viewing The Black Keys once they took the stage. We felt lucky to slip into a great spot but didn't realize at the time that it would be almost another HOUR before they took the stage. The crowd was civil despite the size and the staggering heat, but as time went on there was obviously some tension rising. At one point someone broke out several large beach balls and had them bouncing throughout the crowd. This distracted and amused the crowd just long enough for The Black Keys to FINALLY take the stage. |
_______________________________
| The band sounded great. It's pretty amazing that only two guys with a drum kit and a guitar can crank out such a massive sound! The bluesy, rock rifts coming out of these guys sounds as big, full, and complex as Led Zepplin at times. One would be forgiven for thinking that the sound was coming from a group of five or six people instead of just the two. I had yet to hear a song I recognized, but still was thoroughly enjoying the show. One several occasions I attempted to snap some photos of the band but was having a tough time getting any quality shots despite being positioned quite close. I think the combination of the low light and the constant movement of the band was to blame. I also think I need to look into adjusting my shutter speed/apature settings, but being the old man that I am, I'm not yet sure how to do that with my digital Sony. The results of my attempts at photographing the band were all blurry but in a strange way captured the feeling of the sound (see pic at top). Gary and I watched maybe a half dozen songs from our vantage point in the thick of the crowd before bailing out for some fresher, cooler air. The crowd was massive! I could hardly believe how many people occupied the plaza area, and realized that because the show was free many of the people there couldn't have cared less as to who was on stage, they were just there to be part of the festival atmosphere. We waited in a long beer line, then watched another four or five songs from further back. At one point we went to use the port-o-potties and saw that despite there being dozens of them lined up along the back of the venue that the line was over a dozen people deep in front of each one. That was our sign to leave the show. We walked the half block east back to Bar X, used their empty bathroom, ordered another ice cold tankard of Bud, and reoccupied our old table. After about 20 minutes people began flooding the street and the bars/restaurants along 2nd South. The show had obviously come to an end and we had timed our exit perfectly. Great fun that night. Big thanks to Gary for joining me! We'll do it again next year. |