The Black Keys Serve Peaches n’ Kream in Vancouver
- Jun 1
- 2 min read
May 31st, 2026
By Tucker McLean
Out of the darkened wings of the Roger’s Arena in Vancouver, the Black Keys strode onto the stage and settled at their instruments with the rattlesnake shake of a maraca. Midstage, the band’s five supporting musicians were hemmed in by instruments and accessories: amps, bongos, congas, and a piano crowned with a skull. And on the wall behind them all, THE BLACK KEYS in block lettering was spelled out in yellow bulbs reminiscent of old Vegas.
As Sunday night got underway, Dan Auerbach, singer and lead guitarist, stomped atop a red Persian rug, his white kinked amp cord stretching behind him, while drummer Patrick Carney beat on a Keys-branded kit flush with the lip of the stage. Both rocked sunglasses. Their pulsing, reverb-heavy sound, punctuated by the constant jangle of tambourine and the snap and thud of drum, echoed deep into the farthest corners of the stadium.
The Keys’ current world tour, titled Peaches ‘n Kream, coincides with the release of their latest album Peaches!, their 14th overall. The album is a collection of time-worn blues-rock tracks, dusted off and reinterpreted for a modern audience, the vinyl turning a little faster, the stereo turned up a little louder.
In their quarter century as a band, the Black Keys sound has grown fuller, their production more ambitious, but the simplicity of the duo at its centre – a guitarist and a drummer, sharing equal footing on the stage and songwriting credit on their albums – continues to set them apart from their rock contemporaries.
The Akron, Ohio players kept things lean and streamlined, avoiding the theatrical trappings of so many stadium shows, but that didn’t mean there weren’t thoughtful flourishes along the way. Halfway through the set, a disco ball lowered for “Everlasting Light,” and the crowd gasped when the entire arena, floor to roof, was cast in brilliant, spinning, speckled light. It served as a reminder that even in a venue this grand, the simplest combinations, like sliced peaches in sweet cream, still have the power to delight.
