The Black Keys

The Black Keys' singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach doesn't have a whole lot to say. Like the old bluesmen he admires so much, most of the songs he writes are about how some girl did him or his drummer bandmate Patrick Carney wrong. Or about how they're looking for a girl, who'll undoubtedly do them wrong sometime in the near future. The theme goes all the way back to when they were a scrappy duo making records in their makeshift Akron studio and continues all the way through to their latest release, El Camino, which led to a high-profile spot on SNL and selling out Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes. What's attracted so many people to the Keys over the past few years, not so surprisingly, is the same thing that's attracted white music fans to all those classic bluesmen: a primal sense of emotional and physical release that comes with the pounding thump of drums and the electric surge of a six-string guitar. It's not too deep, but at a time when mainstream rock music's biggest players come off like happy hour with the bros, it counts for something. Two additional musicians will help expand that primal sound onstage when the Keys play the Q this week. With Arctic Monkeys. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $34.50-$59.50. – Michael Gallucci