Kinda underwhelmed, to be honest.
PREVIOUSLY: Given the expansive economies of the ‘90s, it was no wonder that stripped-down, gutbucket guitar-and-drum duos like Flat Duo Jets and Doo Rag couldn’t get arrested, their minimalist roots-rock exiled to the sub basements of the indie concert circuit and the privileged ghetto of college radio. But in this age of austerity, when everyone is doing more with less, it is stripped-down, gutbucket guitar-and-drum duos like The White Stripes and, more recently, The Black Keys, that have made some of the most seminal and commercially-viable music. Where Auerbach is reserved, Carney tends to speak his mind, consequences be damned, and there have been consequences. Dissing Nickelback in a recent Rolling Stone cover story caused a minor Internet kerfuffle. “I didn’t mean to piss off anybody but, you know, it shouldn’t be coming as a surprise that Dan and I don’t listen to Nickelback,” he says with a shrug. But what if you run into those guys on the road, Magnet wonders aloud, and they want to rumble? There’s four of them and only two of you. “Whatever, I’m sure their girlfriends could beat me up,” says Carney waving away the topic like an errant gnat. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: Carney is fine with the downmarket menu, he says, this way he won’t be tempted to break his pre-touring season cleanse, for which he has given up carbs, fats, booze, caffeine and fun of just about ever stripe aside from Camel Lights for which he has graciously made an exception. Collapsing his sturdy 6’4 frame into diner booth, Drummer Patrick Carney sits high in the saddle, dressed in a crisp baby blue oxford shirt under a Navy Pea Coat and his trademark black Buddy Holly Ray-Bans. He is intense, a little suspicious and seems slightly pre-occupied with matters far removed from the moment. By contrast, singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach, bearded and rocking a sharp blue denim 
and rust-tone suede combo, seems preternaturally chill, elbow on the table, his head tilted to the side and resting on his fist. His large, round eyes faintly ringed with circles and tinged with the late afternoon lethargy of an early riser such as himself. Where Auerbach is reserved, Carney tends to speak his mind, consequences be damned, and there have been consequences. Dissing Nickelback in a recent Rolling Stone cover story caused a minor Internet kerfuffle. “I didn’t mean to piss off anybody but, you know, it shouldn’t be coming as a surprise that Dan and I don’t listen to Nickelback,” he says with a shrug. But what if you run into those guys on the road, Magnet wonders aloud, and they want to rumble? There’s four of them and only two of you. “Whatever, I’m sure their girlfriends could beat me up,” says Carney waving away the topic like an errant gnat. MORE