Dan Auerbach
Corner Hotel
April 9, 2009
I’ve never been to the Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame. Judging by caliber of some of the inductees I don’t think I’m missing out on anything either. Besides, unless you a huuuge fan of Charlie Sheen in Major League and follow the Tribe during the baseball season, I don’t even see the attraction to Cleveland. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some worthy names in the Hall, but from ballot to induction the whole process is so clichéd that it’s almost like the Fox FM of the rock world – tightly scripted and play-listed.
I have however had the benefit of visiting the States a couple of times and seeing some of the landmark icons in music. Graceland, Stax Records, Gibson Guitar Factory, Sun Studios – I’ve even had dinner in the studio that The Doors recorded LA Woman in (it’s now an Italian restaurant – I recommend the veal). I also had the pleasure of being to the Experience Music Project in Seattle. This is a little different from your standard museum as it’s more of a hands on display. A Science Works for music, if you will. One of the great aspects of the Project is the diversity of the displays with a heavy influence on the artwork of posters, record sleeves, CDs – even cassettes.
Now, you’re probably reading this and asking yourself: What the hell does this have to do with Dan Auerbach? – hang on there, kids, I’m getting there.
One of the exhibitions at the Project when I was there, circa 2002, was a history of the Seattle music scene through poster artwork. The other day I was flipping through a few photos I took while I was there and noticed the quality of the bands on the bill. Yes, Nirvana, Pearl Jam (inc Mookie Blaylock and Green River) and Alice in Chains were there. Cult favorites The Melvins and Mother Love Bone also got a mention. But it was the triple bill poster of Soundgarden, Mudhoney and The Screaming Trees that really caught my eye. All at one gig, all headlining. Let me digress (again) and pose this hypothetical – imagine being in the same room and hearing the likes of Chris Cornell, Mark Arm and Mark Lanegan bellow out their soon-to-be classics.
All this nostalgia got me thinking. In this day of the massive festival, the triple bill gig has all but disappeared. Promoters probably feel if they’re going to get three overseas quality acts, they might as well add another eight local acts, jack up the price and call it a festival. But Thursday night at the Corner I witnessed a revival – a legitimate triple billing featuring Hacienda, Tony Joe White and Dan Auerbach.
Hacienda are a tough band to pigeonhole – if the Beatles went a little bluegrass and you threw in a Hispanic undertone then you might have something close. Playing tracks from the recently-released Loud is the Night album, including ‘She’s Got a Hold On Me’, ‘Hear Me Crying’ and ‘Shake Ya’, the packed room was lapping it up as quickly and eagerly as it was being created. All this before 9pm.
Tony Joe White shuffled on stage and assumed his seated position, greeting the audience in a booming baritone, and proceeding to engulf the room with his unique guitar and vocal techniques. Now I’ve got to be honest, I’m not familiar with much of White’s extensive catalogue. I did, however, recognise his classic ‘Polk Salad Annie’ – as did everyone else at the Corner that night – when White shared his gravelly, bourbon-soaked rendition with us. Truly an amazing voice.
It’s no surprise that, after producing Hacienda’s album, Dan Auerbach uses Texan four-piece as his backing band to perform his recent solo effort, Keep it Hid. It’s also obvious to note the influence that Auerbach has on the group, not just musically, but also in the facial hair department. Both Auerbach and Dante Schwebel are sporting beards that would make Billy Gibbons proud. In fact, from the rear of the room and with similar builds, it’s actually tricky to tell the two apart – even more so as they keep changing places throughout the show.
Auerbach’s solo offerings sound a little gentler and more sympathetic than the grittier Black Keys back catalogue – this is not a criticism, merely an observation. So when it comes to tracks such as ‘Trouble Weighs a Ton’, a raw Appalachian-esque ballad, and ‘When The Night Comes’, a Van Morrison inspired tune, the true depth of Auerbach’s song writing talent is displayed.
‘Whispered Words’ (a song written by Auerbach’s father) and ‘Mean Monsoon’ increased the tenacity of the sound and raised the crowd from its respectful drowse. Auerbach then delved into the coarser parts of the release, including ‘Street Walkin’ and ‘The Prowl’. As the album was written, produced and nearly all instrumentation played by Auerbach, I was very interested to see how it would translate live – unsurprisingly, it was a seamless transition.
So while there are slim odds that Auerbach, White and Hacienda will be packing there bags and heading to Cleveland over the course of their careers are slim – short of any pre-arranged gigs in the city – I feel comforted in the knowledge that it wont take a cheesy ceremony and hideous trophy for these three to be inducted in to the Hall of Musical Respect.