It’s been a relatively quiet few years for The Black Keys, but apparently the two-man blues-rock juggernaut is firing up again.
On Thursday, the Ohio-born duo announced a 31-date North American tour with Seattle indie-rock giants Modest Mouse. The Let’s Rock tour hits the Tacoma Dome on Nov. 23, the penultimate date before wrapping up in Vancouver the following night. Fans can register for the chance to buy presale tickets through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program now through 7 p.m. March 17. The Verified Fan presale runs from 10 a.m. March 19 through 10 p.m. March 21, with a separate Citi card presale starting 11 a.m. March 19.
Tickets eventually go on sale to the general public 10 a.m. March 22.
Last week, The Black Keys released the true-to-spiffed-up-garage-blues-form single “Lo/Hi,” the band’s first new music since 2014’s “Turn Blue” album. Since then, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have solidified themselves as in-demand producers, with Carney notably producing K Records boss Calvin Johnson’s latest album, the appropriately titled “A Wonderful Beast.” Meanwhile, Auerbach’s had has hands in records from Cage the Elephant, Lana Del Ray and Shannon & the Clams, the latter of which opens the Tacoma Dome show.
It’s been four years since the release of Modest Mouse’s last album, “Strangers to Ourselves,” but Isaac Brock and co. popped up for a headlining set at Sasquatch! Music Festival last year, dispensing sage festival advice to inebriated campers. Carney of The Black Keys is a noted Seattle music fan who particularly admires Modest Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green.
“He wrote things that weren’t technically difficult but were unique,” Carney told The Seattle Times in 2012. “No one would ever compare me to him, but I love his playing.”