Dan Auerbach is apparently sick of all of the aggravation and pressure and headaches and crowded quarters and groupie-theft and ego-fights that inevitably ensue when touring with such a garishly large and unwieldy ensemble as The Black Keys. So he’s decided to do something radically different and take his lonesome solo act on the road. And, hey! What a clever bugger! Because, see, the tour, which includes shows at New York City’s Webster Hall, Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom and Philadelphia’s Theater of the Living Arts, is arriving on the heels of Auerbach’s Nonesuch solo debut, Keep It Hid, recently released on Nonesuch for the Nonesuch label. The album, out now on Nonesuch, received that good-old-fashioned praise (the kind that Nonesuch-released records usually receive) from The New York Times, NPR’s Fresh Air, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and even Pitchfork, making Tiny Mix Tapes look like total FOOLS for not reviewing and “praising it” too, apparently (it got a 6.2, by the way).
Keep It Hid was produced and engineered by the lonesome Auerbach at his studio Akron Analog and features him playing drums, guitar, percussion, and keyboards. Its sound, a reaction to the overblown, overcrowded, overproduced, overanalyzed-by-obsessive-critics-and-fans, and overcomplicated “electric blues folk fuck rock” of typical Black Keys records; features songs in the fresh and much-more-palatable “acoustic/electric blues folk funk rock” style. Other guests include Jessica Lea Mayfield, who sings on the track “When the Night Comes,” Bob Cesare, who plays drums on “Whispered Words” (a song originally written by Auerbach’s father), and even Auerbach’s uncle James Quine, who contributes vocal harmony and electric guitar on the track “Street Walkin.” Speaking briefly about the vibe of the record, Auerbach stated, “I wanted a live, organic sound. Nothing was too plotted or planned, just a lot of spontaneity.” The record was mixed by Auerbach’s buddy Mark Neill at Neill’s Soil of the South studio... and released by Nonesuch... Wilco’s label.
Dates:
11.05.09 - Columbus, OH -Newport Music Hall
11.06.09 - Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater
11.07.09 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
11.08.09 - Montreal, QC - Le National
11.09.09 - Boston, MA - The Paradise
11.11.09 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
11.12.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Theater of the Living Arts
11.13.09 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
11.14.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Cat’s Cradle
11.16.09 - Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
11.17.09 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
11.18.09 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
11.20.09 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall
11.21.09 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
12.03.09 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
12.04.09 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
12.06.09 - Bloomington, IN - The Bluebird
12.08.09 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
12.09.09 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
