Music Midtown 2011: The Black Keys blow us away

As the cool air of dusk wafted over the eager crowd, the many thousands of fans that filled Piedmont Park squeezed together, buzzing with excitement. While we waited, two giant inflatables - a tree and a gargantuan tire - emerged from the stage. Then beach balls flew into the audience as the Black Keys stepped out to begin their set. Flavored with blues and funk elements, the band's rock sound permeated the park as their incredible energy inspired everyone in the crowd to move to the beat. Once they had finished their first song, the cheering began. Now, I've been to hundreds of concerts and shows over the past few years, but never have I experienced anything like this. The cheering was just deafening, like a massive tornado blasting through the crowd. I was in pure awe of the Black Keys' power. Between an intense drum/guitar mid-song jam session and their performance of the hit Tighten Up which had the fans singing along gleefully, the audience was absolutely absorbed in their set from start to finish. It was purely amazing!

When the band had played their final note, my friend Jordan and I turned around to find that we were completely caged in for the hour wait until Coldplay would take the stage. There were masses of people as far as we could see in every direction, and although I had really wanted to catch Cage the Elephant's set, barring teleportation there was just no way I was getting past those thousands of fans, much less getting back to my spot after they had finished. Luck was still with me that day, though, and I was able to hear many of the songs from all the way across the park. Best of all, the crowd by the main stage grew quiet just to listen as they played Back Against the Wall, one of my favorites of their tunes. Truly, even from as far away as I was, Cage the Elephant sounded amazing!

Even now, days later, I can't believe how incredible this whole day was... and the big finale with Coldplay was still yet to come!

For all of our coverage of the exciting experience that was Music Midtown 2011, click here!