Akron’s favorite sons made a return to the Rubber City last night for a free concert at the Akron Civic Theater.
It was promoted by Stand with Crypto, an organization that appears, on the surface at least, to be politically agnostic. The group emphasized how voting was critical to get legislation passed to codify crypto into law and, most importantly, they said, was to get the general public to understand, exactly, what crypto is and how it works. (But Crypto PACs have poured tens of millions of dollars into the Ohio Senate race, championing Bernie Moreno and opposing Sherrod Brown.)
While tickets were offered at no charge to the public, to get VIP status the concertgoers had to sign up for a digital wallet and download an NFT. That status got them a space on the stage with the band, which held approximately 250 people.
Those that didn’t get the NFT, another 250 folks, were relegated to the mezzanine level of the beautiful old theater.
In a unique setup, the stage was flipped so the band played backwards, facing the back of the stage. The mezzanine seats were actually viewing the backs of the band.
It created a more intimate environment for the concert, allowing the small gathering onstage to have a very up-close view of The Black Keys.
After an astonishingly short twenty minutes of remarks from the lobbying group promoting crypto currency, a short DJ set got the crowd hyped. Frontman Dan Auerbach, drummer Patrick Carney, and their outfit took the stage at about 6:45 and played an eleven-song, 45-minute set.
