Hours before their album Ohio Players dropped on Friday (April 5), Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys held an intimate release party and concert for fans. But instead of a traditional stage, the pair set up shop in a Los Angeles bowling alley — a perfect callback to their new record’s sporty cover, on which a woman in vintage clothing takes aim at a row of pins.
Standing in front of the lanes at Highland Park Bowl, the duo was joined by a section of horn players as they performed songs from the 14-track LP, which features cameos from Beck, Juicy J and Lil Noid. Auerbach and Carney were separated by a rack of red bowling balls for the performance.
The event came nearly three months after the rockers dropped “Beautiful People (Stay High),” the lead single from Ohio Players. The track peaked atop the Alternative Airplay chart in March, securing the band its seventh No. 1 on the ranking.
The new album was also led by singles “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and “This Is Nowhere,” as well as “On the Game,” which The Keys co-wrote with Oasis singer/songwriter Noel Gallagher. “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music,’” Carney said of the collaborations on Ohio Players in a statement.
“No matter who we work with, it never feels like we’re sacrificing who we are,” added Auerbach. “We’d never worked harder to make a record. It’s never taken us this long to make an album. We took our time and did it right.”
See exclusive photos from The Black Keys’ whimsical bowling alley Ohio Players celebration below.
