Two guys playing music

My daughter and I went to see The Black Keys in concert recently. The Black Keys have plenty of hits and are tremendous performers. The band is really two guys who have been playing together since high school. One's a drummer, the other is a guitarist and singer.  On their records, they fill in the sound by adding bass guitar and keyboards. In concert, they have three back-up musicians who play the bass and keyboard parts from the records.

Their concert was maybe the best we've ever seen. My favorite part was when the two Black Keys dismissed the back-up musicians and played as a duo--drums and guitar. You could tell that this is where the magic was. Somehow, almost inexplicably, you didn't miss the other instruments because this was really where the heart was--two guys playing music together.

It's really hard to determine exactly where the heart and magic is in any business. It's even more difficult to put it on display and celebrate it, but that's where the joy is.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com