💰 Who's still a Black Keys fan in 2024?

Making rent vs. buying concert tickets. [View this email in your browser]( [READER Logo]( Daily Reader | May 29, 2024 This past weekend, I caught wind of the news that the Black Keys [canceled their North American arena tour](. The group has barely crossed my mind in the past 15 years or so, except when I’ve encountered them against my will, usually through a commercial for a truck that’s a lifestyle accessory for someone far richer than myself. I am more interested in considering the catalog of advertisements that use the Black Keys’ songs than I am in actually listening to their music. Their most-streamed song, the first track on their 2011 album, El Camino, has more than half a billion streams, and I suspect some fraction of those plays were at the behest of people who actively wanted to listen to the Black Keys. I know they’re a popular band, or at least they are omnipresent to a degree that makes them appear to be. But big enough to headline an arena in 2024? Hard to say. The band’s most recent statement suggests they’re pivoting in favor of [playing more intimate venues]( whenever they do happen to reschedule their tour. [Consequence suggests]( poor ticket sales contributed to the Black Keys’ tour cancellation, based on a screenshot of available seats for the group’s Baltimore stop. [Star Tribune music critic Chris Riemenschneider]( noted the Black Keys’ show is the fourth Target Center concert to be canceled this year. I’ve read various stories that say the Black Keys arena tickets cost between $100 and $300, and [one Reddit user posted]( that floor tickets in Los Angeles cost $600 before fees. I can barely get my head around the concept of paying $100 to see the Black Keys, never mind six times that amount. When I’ve written about the challenges facing live music since the pandemic started, I’ve focused on [indie artists who face potential economic hardships by going on a brief tour]( and [air quality concerns]( But what about the economics of attending live music now? What financial calculations do concertgoers have to make in order to get the seats they want at, uh, a Black Keys show? What will they miss out on by buying that ticket? What other financial concerns—food, rent, healthcare—make the thought of buying a $100 concert ticket out of reach? I don’t have the answers at the moment, but I suspect I’ll hold onto these questions as summer music festival season wears on. Which brings me to this concluding note: you can still see the Black Keys in Chicago as part of the NASCAR Street Race concert in July. General admission passes start at $240. ◈ [“Have You Seen A Cybertruck Yet?,”]( by David Roth (Defector) ◈ [“Emil Ferris Still Believes in Monsters,”]( by Mark Yarm (Vulture) ◈ [“Torture's Anti-Imperialist Slam Is Changing the Gore Game,”]( by Kim Kelly (Salvo) ◈ Semiratruth, [The Star of the Story]( ◈ The Casio Comedian, [Birthday Boy]( ◈ twikipedia, [for the rest of your life]( ◈ NINATAHEC, [NINATAHEC]( [Guitarist and oud master Rami Gabriel releases a multifaceted solo debut]( Plus: Martin Levy drops a new video for his postgender pop-diva persona, Candy. by [DMB (Debbie-Marie Brown)]( and [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → [Japanese art-rockers Melt-Banana have spent decades perfecting their mash-up of spasmodic noise]( Sat 6/1 at Bottom Lounge by [Micco Caporale]( | [Read more]( → [UK punk legends the Damned reunite with their founding drummer to make noise, noise, noise]( Sun 6/2 at Concord Music Hall by [Steve Krakow]( | [Read more]( → [Chicago indie rockers Babe Report deliver a lean, huge-sounding debut]( Thu 6/6 at Fallen Log by [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → The Reader is surveying the Chicago music community about its reading habits, to determine how to distribute music news and concert announcements in the best way possible. Answer our short survey and you’ll be entered to win concert tickets to a variety of shows, including Amos Lee at Auditorium Theatre, The Gaslight Anthem at the Salt Shed, and more! [CLICK HERE FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!]( Get the latest issue of the Chicago Reader Thursday, May 16, 2024 [READ ONLINE: VOL. 53, NO. 16]( [VIEW/DOWNLOAD ISSUE (PDF)]( [Donate to the Chicago Reader.]( [Facebook icon]( [Instagram icon]( [Twitter icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( [YouTube icon]( [Website icon]( [Logo] You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from the Chicago Reader. Want fewer emails from us? [Click here to choose what you want us to send you](. Or, [unsubscribe from all Reader emails](. We’ll miss you! [Sign up for emails from the Chicago Reader]( | [Forward this e-mail to a friend]( © 2024 Chicago Reader. All rights reserved. Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616