Wednesday 16/05/07 The Black Keys, Kill Devil Hills @ The Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide

Stand-up drummers come into two basic categories. There’s Mo Tucker, the sublime beat-thumper behind the Velvets, and then there’s everyone else. Unfortunately the second group is dominated by dodgy rockabillies, hillbillies and other assorted miscreants that you might find busking outside your local supermarket. Tonight’s specimen is part of a six-piece outfit known as the Kill Devil Hills – the name comes from a small town in North Carolina, suggesting he might be one of the hillbilly contingent – but any fears for the evening’s entertainment are soon put to rest. True, there is a hint of the Appalachian about their music, but there’s also a hint of the Bad Seeds and at least a few moments of brilliance.

Hailing, in reality, from Perth, the Kill Devil Hills open with a truly glorious slice of malevolence. Slow, menacing and intense, 'Did I Damage You?' immediately has the room on notice – we’re in for something special. Though the rest of the set doesn’t quite live up to the strength of that first number, the standard doesn’t fall too far.

If it weren’t for the violin and mandolin/banjo players the Kill Devil Hills’ line-up would be a fairly standard quartet, but those additions are part of what makes it all work so well. There’s plenty of emotional and musical variety within their dark Americana, and the songs – 'Boneyard Rider', 'I Wonder If She’s Thinking Of Me', 'Drinking Too Much' among them – typically have interesting stories to tell. By the end of the Kill Devil Hills’ slot, one disoriented punter can be heard wondering if it’s time to go home. Surely this lot can’t be the support band?

Obviously The Black Keys have plenty to live up to, but when they take the stage it seems that they’ll do it comfortably. For the first few numbers they give every indication that they’re going to be absolutely stunning. They open with 'Thickfreakness', and it’s slow, heavy and as funky as you could wish for. Dan Auerbach offers a succession of beautifully played riffs, harking back to the days when blues-rock was the only music that mattered, without ever sounding stale. His singing fits the material perfectly, and Patrick Carney’s drumming is somehow both precise and fluid. You know straight away that you’re in the company of two excellent musicians, something that certainly can’t be said of every blues-based guitar and drum duo that you might think of. More than that, they work brilliantly together, and the lack of a bass player is never an issue.