Congratulations to The Black Keys, who have been nominated for two mtvU Woodie Awards: Woodie of the Year (Artist of the Year) and Performing Woodie (Best Live Act). Voting has begun and runs through March 9. The Black Keys begin their three-night, sold-out run at Alexandra Palace in London tonight. The Times gives Monday's Manchester show four stars, suggesting that The Black Keys are "the new, pre-eminent pop stars of the blues." The Daily Telegraph gives four stars as well to the "triumphant" show.
Congratulations to The Black Keys, who have been nominated for two mtvU Woodie Awards: Woodie of the Year (Artist of the Year, or, as mtvU says, "the artists who made an indelible stamp on the music scene this year") and Performing Woodie (Best Live Act). mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, announced the nominations earlier today. Voting has begun and runs through March 9. Fans can vote for all of the categories online at woodies.mtvU.com, including Woodie of the Year here and Performing Woodie here. The 2012 mtvU Woodie Awards Special will debut on-air on MTV and mtvU on Sunday, March 18, at 8 PM ET.
The Black Keys begin their three-night, sold-out run at Alexandra Palace in London tonight, with Band of Skulls opening each night. The shows bring to a close the Keys' European winter tour, which brought them to Manchester earlier this week for two sold-out shows at the O2 Apollo.
The Times of London gives Monday's Manchester show four stars, saying the band filled the arena "with a sure-footed flourish, ramping up the production and presentation values of their performance without sacrificing one jot of their raw cult appeal." It seems, suggests reviewer David Sinclair, that The Black Keys are "the new, pre-eminent pop stars of the blues ... They encored with a brilliant, final blast of 'I Got Mine' at which point they finally unveiled their name, proudly spelt out above the stage in glittering lights. It’s going to be up there for a while." Times subscribers can read the review at thetimes.co.uk.
The Daily Telegraph calls the show "triumphant," giving it four stars. The band has "taken the basic DNA of woman-done-me-wrong blues and transformed it into the kind of euphoric din you can punch the sky to," writes reviewer Rob Hughes. "The valedictory noise of 'Lonely Boy' was a case in point, a huge T Rex riff cleaving through the air, as was ecstatic new single 'Gold on the Ceiling,' all raw fizz, buzzing guitar and terrace choruses." Read the complete review at telegraph.co.uk.
The Black Keys launch their US arena tour on Friday, March 2, at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, and they'll bring over a bit of Britain with them, as the Arctic Monkeys open along the tour. For more information, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.
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