Having just been down here in the middle of last year, it seems The Black Keys are developing a love for this sunburnt country. After putting on this stellar show, if the love is true, we truly are the lucky country.

Tonight’s show was the final show for this run of Australian gigs. So it seemed a little strange to end the tour with a bang by holding it on a Sunday night at a seated venue. However, it meant the audience was much more attentive and focused on observing the music and admiring the power of blues based rock’n’roll.

Gomez played a support set focused more on the later half their catalogue, rather than belting out all the old classic numbers. Perhaps, this is to save the enjoyment for their 10th Anniversary celebratory performances of Bring It On, which they are also touring.

Tom Gray leads the banter and invitations to clap hands for the evening, while Ben Ottewell takes the center of the stage. Gray commented on the attentiveness of the audience. And the crowd was very appreciative, giving warm responses to each passing song. The highlight moments of the set would have to be the extended rendition of Blue Moon Rising, We Haven’t Turned Around and the big finish to How We Operate.

Gomez have held a strong place in Australian hearts for a good 10 years now. It seems the time has seen them become a different band. Their extended versions and longer solos suggest that they are much more comfortable with their presence on stage. However, some solos do linger at points and come across a little self-indulgent. The lack of smiles and movement on stage suggests they may not be getting as much of a buzz from their live shows when they were the young likely lads from Southport. Perhaps this is just a sign they are becoming more professional. Overall the set was entertaining. Compared to their Sydney Performance at the Big Top, where they we majorly let down by the sound quality, this was a great way to lead in to the headliners for the night.

It’s pretty impressive to see the transition of Gomez’s fairly complex set up with the arrays of pedals, laptops, midiboxes, three toms and plenty of cymbals on the drums exchange over to the simple set up of The Black Keys with a guitar, a few pedals, a drum kit with one tom, and some inflatable Indian paraphernalia to fill up some stage space. Yet with this completely stripped back set up, the sound the two, from Akron Ohio, generate has no issue filling the entire room.

Dan Auerbach’s guitar work is mesmerizing to watch and hear. It’s not about hitting as many notes as possible in the shortest space of time, it’s about playing a song with soul, creating a sound that would make even Jimi Hendrix cream in his pants. Auerbach has to be up there with the greats.

The set paid homage to most of the back catalogue with most of the crowd favorites getting a show, Set You Free, 10AM Automatic, Stack Shock Billy and Your Touch. The newer songs were interesting to see as they are performed without the added production in the recordings, and brought back to the level of just Dan and Pat. With this, some songs still seemed to lack a little without the backing, such as the chorus in Strange Times, while others took a life of there own and are even better for it, Same Old Thing and Psychotic Girl.

After being together for eight years and five LP’s. The show is definitely a professional one, with thank you’s to the crowd and support acts, a joke for the seated front to calm down and keeping up smooth transitions from one song to the next keeping the rock momentum moving.

The biggest responses from the crowd were for I Got Mine at the end of the set, when the crowd finally decided to all move from their seating areas head toward the front to fill the aisles, and embrace the rock. The encore songs Psychotic Girl and Till I Get My Way, held on to that final momentum.

The Black Keys, certainly left the audience more than satisfied. Let’s hope the love is true, and the “see you next time” statement isn’t just the sounds of a rock tease.