SXSW film review: This is a Film About The Black Keys premiered at Sx Film Festival
For South By Southwest 2024, The Black Keys premiered their triumphant story of rock and roll stardom, which didn’t come as an immediate success as their long tenure as a band might suggest. In the premiering This Is A Film About The Black Keys, we get to see their rise as a band, along with the friends they met and the legends they crossed paths with along the way, allowing for all the laughs, pitfalls, and eventual success of being famous rock stars in the present.
Akron, Ohio’s The Black Keys have had a career built on stripped-down rock and roll, but the duo has made more of an impact than just being a commercial rock act that’s made some hits. Since the Ohio band formed in 2001, frontman Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have had a friendship that’s had a series of twists and turns, and their road to glory, fame, and fortune hasn’t come without its bumps in the road.
In the humble beginnings of The Black Keys, Akron, Ohio, acted as their stomping grounds, with drummer Carney acquiring a 4-track recorder at an early age to make his music in his childhood home. On the other hand, Auerbach was not even in Carney’s vicinity. Let’s not sugarcoat this – the pair were not friends in childhood. As far as being “band besties” is concerned, that didn’t come until much later. The pair took what appeared to be multiple hiatuses, with 2024 looking like their strongest year yet.
Throughout the film, it becomes evident that there was off-and-on filming throughout The Keys’ tenure, and each member gets their turn in the spotlight, as flattering or embarrassing as each turn of events might be. A surprise to a fair-weather fan will be the temperamental antics of Patrick Carney. The guy isn’t shown as the most patient man; Carney hated the sudden mainstream fame and the comparison monsters that came with that notoriety. Nonetheless, the band’s star-studded upbringing is chronicled beautifully and includes beloved music giants the pair met along the journey. Star-crossed paths included Beck and Alice Cooper, the former of which played a massive role in the film.
The Ohio pair first met Beck at a Saturday Night Live afterparty, which The Black Keys were semi invited to. The legend goes like this: Carney and Auerbach were so broke at the time that they were drinking forgotten drinks at the bar, and Beck saw them doing so. The rock and roll god approached the pair and asked them, “Are you just drinking old drinks off the bar?” “Yeah.” “Can I be friends with you guys?” And a rock and roll friendship was born.
The 90-minute runtime also tells of the group’s falling outs, which are more complicated than one would think. Through the trials, it would be too optimistic to say that there wasn’t hurt feelings. During the after-show Q and A, Carney had to tell the audience, “The hardest part for me about this film is looking at how much of a bitch I was.” A humorous instance of this was a run-in with TMZ after the Grammy’s, a ceremony where The Black Keys swept the awards following the release of their mainstream breakout record Brothers. Carney was asked about what he thought about pop star Justin Bieber being snubbed at the annual music award ceremony. Carney callously replied, “I dunno, he’s rich, right? Grammys are for, like, music, not for money. He’s making a lot of money. He should be happy.” Rightfully insulted, the rock and roll drummer told it how it was. The interaction spurred a Twitter shitshow, resulting in Bieber and his then-rabid fanbase being thrust into a vicious feeding frenzy. An admittedly petty interaction, but it made for a good laugh.
Despite the tensions and falling-outs, the Akron men have always retained the fundamental chemistry that makes them great alternative rock icons, but this didn’t come with strictly rock and roll connections. Portions of the film include Mos Def, Nicole Wray, Pharoahe Monch, Ludacris, Billy Danze of MOP, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Jim Jones, and NOE of ByrdGang, as well as Raekwon, RZA and Ol’ Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan. The collaborations spawned projects Turn Blue AND studio side project Blakroc, the former being produced by the famed Danger Mouse. All in all, The Black Keys made some friends in high places on their way to massive popularity, and this film snapshots that fact in various periods of their history. It’s a wild ride that isn’t without its tumultuous moments, and the pair seem happy with how it all panned out.
As This is a Film About The Black Keys reached its end, it felt like 20 years had passed by in a flash. This story isn’t without strife, but its triumphant highs offset the lowest lows. As the film recounts, The Black Keys isn’t an unlikely success but a mighty success story that came from working-class Ohio and was nurtured into the major festival headlining force it is today. Following a heartwarming Q and A, The Black Keys are stronger than ever. They’ll be here a while.
Featured photo courtesy of SXSW
You must be logged in to post a comment.