On May 5, the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento was filled with the best of British and American rock.
With a mixture of young and old music lovers, the night began at 8 p.m. with the opening band, Arctic Monkeys, revving up the audience for the main act.
The Arctic Monkeys played a selection of the band’s more rocking songs from a diverse catalog of music, which include four albums and countless b-sides.
Beginning with “Brianstrorm” to current crowd favorite “R U Mine?” Arctic Monkeys managed to hold their own in a crowd filled with people who don’t really know who they are, yet.
While still relatively unknown in the United States, Arctic Monkeys is one of the most popular bands in Europe at the moment and probably one of the best bands to come out of England since the Beatles.
By the time the Arctic Monkeys had left the stage however, the crowd was more than ready for the main act.
The Black Keys came onstage to roaring applause, and quickly tore into a set list filled with songs from all seven of the band’s albums.
The crowd went crazy and sang and stamped along to hits such as “Howlin’ for You” “Tighten Up” and “Lonely Boy.”
Seventeen songs later the crowd chanted for more.
The encore included three more songs, including a beautiful performance of “Everlasting Light” with dazzling light effects and a disco ball.
When the concert was over, the audience was left with feeling that they had just witnessed what was probably one of the best concerts of their lives, with two of the best bands in music today.
Both the Arctic Monkeys and The Black Keys more than prove that rock and roll is alive and well, you just have to take the time to find it, or let it find you.