A decade ago, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were working for a slumlord in their Akron, hometown, mowing lawns and scheming plans for their new band, a duo project called The Black Keys, which had recorded demos the year prior. Today, The Black Keys are one of the more reliably big-selling Rock acts in America and seemingly on their way to becoming one of the most successful bands to ever come from the Buckeye State. While the band’s early indie albums were all of similar tones (soulful garage Blues/Rock), as the duo’s profile grew, splashes of Pop and Soul were mixed in craftily, leading to the Keys’ current “superstar” status. The most recent album, El Camino, hit No. 2 on Billboard and the group kicks off its first headlining arena tour in Cincinnati this Friday, March 2 (already having sold out several dates, including the Madison Square Garden — one date that saw tickets disappear in 15 minutes) at U.S. Bank Arena (100 Broadway, Downtown). $29.50-$59.50. www.usbankarena.com.
This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2012.