The Black Keys rolled into Philadelphia on an oversized inflatable Goodyear tire. The 20-foot-high stage prop, adorned with the words “Heavy Sole Black Keys Akron, Ohio” in classic Goodyear font, came to life in a matter of moments after an opening set from the band’s Cincinnati neighbors, Buffalo Killers. The tire’s genie-like inflation drew fist pumps from the sea of male twentysomethings packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the humid Electric Factory.

By now you’ve probably heard the story: Two working-class heroes (lawn mowers, to be exact) play postmodern blues in forgotten Akron factories, hoping to someday make it out of Rubber City. After four critically acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful albums, they call on hip hop’s premier maestro/wizard, Danger Mouse, to produce their new record and blow up like large inflatable objects. While this year’s Attack And Release may lack the raw aesthetics of their former work, it’s still a garage record at its core; you hear the individual instruments and you feel the hands playing them.

The Black Keys—singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney—claim inspiration from Mississippi blues legend R.L. Burnside, not unlike their fellow second-generation bluesies, the North Mississippi All-Stars. Auerbach’s soaring country hymns evoke a sonic hybrid of Gregg Allman’s Southern drawl with Jim James’ frog-in-your-throat boom. As for rhythm, what appears to be Meg White simplicity on drums is, at the very least, a misnomer. Carney pounds his compact set harder than many of his contemporaries, in particular his oversized bass drum. His beat is steady with minimal fills; he’s there to get the job done.

The duo took the stage to elephant-stampede applause. Wearing a teardrop fedora and gas station attendant’s shirt, Auerbach picked up his faux Les Paul resting atop the band’s Fender Rhodes—no need for a stand. The fleshless Carney took a seat behind the elevated kit and removed his dark-rimmed glasses. The two former workmates launched into “Girl Is On My Mind” from 2004’s Rubber Factory, with Carney’s full drum attack leading the way for Auerbach’s distortion-heavy wailing.

The pair tore through “Set You Free,” “Hold Me Down,” and “10 AM Automatic” in under 10 minutes before pausing to take a breath. “That’s Patrick on the drums,” announced Auerbach as Carney mopped himself with a towel while checking the set list. They resumed with “Same Old Thing” off Attack And Release, a track that boasts the chirping jazz flute of Ralph Carney, Patrick’s uncle and a member of Tom Waits’ live band. While Uncle Carney has been known to join the Keys on tour, his absence in Philly was replaced by Patrick’s handiwork on a drum synthesizer. The lack of a live bass or second guitar was almost unnoticeable, largely because of Carney’s magnified thuds on his mondo kick drum, but also due to Auerbach’s kinetic fingering.

Fan favorite “Stack Shot Billy” followed with an extended guitar prelude reminiscent of early Hendrix, and it sparked an audience clap-along. Auerbach’s weathered voice mimicked his guitar line in the Delta Blues tradition, and Carney’s warm snare added a machine-gun solo. Feeding off the crowd’s energy, Auerbach’s guitar playing was as calculated as it was renegade without ever going too far off the map. Ever conscious of their audience, the Black Keys kept the fuzz going with the shimmering riffs of “Busted” off their debut, The Big Come Up, complete with a synchronized guitar-and-drum trot. Auerbach kept the closing instrumental moving along with a magically appearing glass slide that no doubt shredded the faces of fans in the first row.

After battering their audience like a speed bag, Auerbach announced, “We’re gonna slow it down and play a love song.” The Black Keys have but a few true ballads in their five-album catalog, so it was no surprise when the stage lights rained purplish-blue and all distortion disappeared to reveal the opening chords of “You’re The One.” Auerbach’s stringy blonde hair hung below his eyes looking out at the sea of buzz cuts bobbing to Carney’s extra-slow beat. “Strange Times”—the Attack And Release track that’s been heavily featured on music blogs recently—followed, earning one of the best crowd receptions of the evening. While some of the older fans scoffed at the over-exposed single, it’s a hard song to hate, especially when you can hear it on the radio while cruising Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV.

After ripping through 14 songs in just under an hour, the Keys closed with “I Got Mine,” another new tune with a medley all but built for Guitar Hero. The duo regrouped, then kicked off the encore a few minutes later with “Psychotic Girl,” though it fell somewhat flat without the eerie backwoods banjo heard in the foreground of the studio track. “Oceans And Streams” followed, with Auerbach taking a seat at the Fender Rhodes adjacent to Carney’s kit. The reverb was evocative of post-jam titans the Benevento Russo Duo, though the song lacked much improvisation or progression. The show closed with the defiant proclamation “Till I Get My Way,” on which the pair showed no mercy on their instruments as a few struggling crowd surfers kicked heads on their way toward the stage. When the house lights flickered on, there was a communal sigh of exhaustion and relief, but mainly satisfaction. The Black Keys rolled on to Boston having left permanent tread marks on North 7th street.

—John Hendrickson