https://www.deseret.com/2002/10/...

The Black Keys have earned a national reputation as one of the heaviest, grooviest bands circulating these days.

They proved that and a whole lot more Thursday to a beyond-crowded Gallivan Center crowd as part of Salt Lake City's Twilight Concert Series.

At times, the Black Keys' fist-pumping, jumping-in-unison crowd looked as if it was taking part in a communal exorcism rather than watching a top-notch blues-based duo hammer home its music.

During the bouncing, militant groove of "Slapshot," while various college-age men and women were body surfing over the heads of fellow crowd members in the first five rows, two young children suddenly bubbled up out of the milieu.

This caused guitarist Dan Auerbach to stop playing so "we can get these little kids out of here." As drummer Patrick Carney brought down the volume, security helped get the youngsters out of the way.

With everyone apparently safe, the band resumed its musical pounding of the audience.

Not only do the Black Keys work fans into a frenzy, they do so with a seriously blues-soaked groove, repeatedly demonstrated during songs such as "She's Gone," and "Your Touch."

When Auerbach was a youth, his father played many old-time blues records for him. That influence was evident as the band's thrashy, reel-and-roll sound clearly owes as much to Son House as it does to Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin.

Dressed in a '70s-influenced Western shirt, Auerbach, the duo's frontman, found his heartfelt singing joined by the crowd during "Strange Times."

And even though Auerbach and his desperate, thoughtful lyrics will soon embark on a solo tour, it was Carney's breaking-out-of-jail drumming that shone even brighter as the audience throbbed up and down during much of the pair's 70-minute set.

The two locked up in tighter-than-tight lockstep for the set closer "I Got Mine," off their 2008 album "Attack and Release."

That phrase seemed an appropriate description for concertgoers who trickled toward their cars after the band concluded its melodic pillaging.

Earlier Thursday evening, the infinitely mellower Canadian indie-rock band Human Highway preceded the headliners with a perfunctory 60-minute-set that seemed more family friendly and more benign in general than what followed.

...Salt Lake City! The crowd response at this little shindig was amazing! The roar was so loud when the lights went down, and the "jumping up and down" was large-scale and impressive. It looked like everyone in the whole arena was standing up for the encore too!

...today marked 2 cool reunions of sorts, stemming from the fact that there are some Salt Lake weezer ties. Number one was that Brian's sister came and paid us a visit backstage. Number two was a major part of the Allan family (Mykel and Carli's family) came to join us in the rock celebration. It was wonderful to see everyone again!

...early in the weezer set, a huge rush of people in the assigned seating sections rushed the floor to try and join those who were in the standing section. This looked really scary, as people were getting pushed and shoved, and running down the stairs at top speed in the dark is NOT safe. A lot of folks did make it to the floor, but it is a miracle that no one was seriously hurt. At least I didn't hear anything about injuries, but it wouldnt have suprised me if someone had been trampled. Anyway, it didnt look like a very cool way to go about it, and I would strongly recommend against this kind of tomfoolery at future shows...I was seriously scared for people. Security guards came up to the various access points and eventually staunched the flow of people, but by the end of the night the crowd on the floor was a lot fuller than when it started. I'm glad they got to rock out where they wanted to, but

...tonight seemed to be the night of bras and panties being tossed up on stage from the audience. At one point both Brian and Rivers had several lacy underthings hanging from their nightstands. And the mysterious age-old tradition of rock continues!

...I met and talked with some of the guys in Cold today, and they were really nice people! We discussed the fact that they are not getting the warmest welcome from the weezer fans so far on this tour. Interestingly, they mentioned how that when they were opening up for Marilyn Manson earlier this year, they had an even harder time, due to the Manson fans being utterly devoted only to M.M. to the point of (literally) trying to cast evil spells on Cold! We kicked around the idea that some weezer fans are indeed open to different styles of music, but many are finding Cold beyond their "range" of taste, and choose to use the concert as the place to defend their taste. We also discussed how it was in fact Rivers who invited them out, as he digs some of their songs a lot. I guess we've opened a new can of worms on this one. I just hope that the fans at our shows at least show some courtesy, even if they arent willing to give Cold a chance.