The Black Keys at BMO MKE

The Black Keys proclaim “Here I Am” with mostly cohesive set of rock and blues funk on the Milwaukee lakeshore

“Well now, here I am. Well now, here I am, my darlin’. And I’ll care for you. Hey, that’s all I wanna do.”

With those lines, The Black Keys have been kicking off their 2025 No Rain, No Flower Tour with a three-song medley of “Thickfreakness,” “The Breaks” and “I’ll Be Your Man.” That opening series features just Dan Auerbach on guitar and Patrick Carney on drums — the heart (Carney) and the soul (Auerbach) of The Black Keys.

Those words: “Here I am” act as a proclamation. If you recall, the duo announced and then quickly canceled 2024’s planned “International Players Tour,” a 31-date North American arena tour citing a desire to play more intimate venues. They then fired their management, saying the group booked “unrealistic venues.”

Saturday’s show at the BMO Harris Pavilion on Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan shoreline was not a sellout. While far from intimate, the pavilion is a tad smaller than the city’s Fiserv Forum originally scheduled for the cancelled 2024 tour. BMO can hold up to 10,000 versus the forum’s stated 18,000 capacity for concerts. The BMO feels much smaller, however; and when combined with its open-air location on the water with views of the city skyline it is — on a good weather evening — more charming than the vast echoing void of Fiserv.

It was a crisp and cool evening for early September, but Auerbach, Carney and crew lit a fire that burned from start to finish. The pair were backed by a five-piece band featuring Little Barrie Cadogan and Andy Gabbard on guitars, Zach Gabbard on bass, Ray Jacildo on keys and Chris St. Hilaire on percussion.

Cadogan is a new and high-pedigree addition to the touring roster. The English axeman has played with Morrissey, Paul Weller, Edwyn Collings, Primal Scream, Liam Gallagher and the The. Listening to Little Barrie and Auerbach together — I’ll call it harmonized dissonance — was the highlight of the night. The pairing was most prominent with extended riffing on “Weight of Love” and “Heavy Soul.” Add Gabbard’s chops to the mix and the three knocked down doors on “Tighten Up,” where the three played virtually in unison to create a sonic wave.

There were some perceived missteps along the way. The chemistry displayed on the aforementioned songs just wasn’t to be found on “Fever,” as it chugged along slightly askew. And while new songs “Man on a Mission” and “A Little Too High” fit into the setlist seamlessly, “No Rain, No Flower” and “Down to Nothing” didn’t work nearly as well. While both are decent songs on their own, they seemed forced into an otherwise cohesive set — like overpolished and perfectly round pegs trying unsuccessfully to squeeze into more rough and imperfect squares.

Those gaffs were quickly set aside as the band cranked into two tracks from 2010’s “Brothers
— “Howlin’ for You” with its joyous “da di da da” sing along and set-closer “She’s Long Gone.”

If there were any doubts about the Keys’ place in the rock and soul blues pantheon, the encore dismissed them. It began placidly with Auerbach under a lone spotlight softly picking the opening melody of “Little Black Submarine” before the crowd erupted to those razor sharp chords midway through the track. Then, the night ended in a frenzy of spastic funk dance get-down with “Lonely Boy.”

While The Black Keys may not be filling arenas in 2025, they remain at the top of their game. They are “here, darling,” and hopefully they’re not going away anytime soon.

The No Rain, No Flowers tour winds down with stops in Kansas City, Sept. 7; Mexico City, Sept. 11; and Atlanta, Sept. 20. Head to theblackkeys.com for more info or follow them on all the standard socials, including Facebook and Instagram.

If you’re unfamiliar, I encourage you to check out The Heavy Heavy. The Brighton, England, five-piece opened the Milwaukee show with nine songs of retro-inspired rock. Led by co-founders Georgie Fuller and William Turner, this band is sure to continue to make inroads to ears across North America. Learn more at theheavyheavy.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!

If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.