It was, in short, under-rehearsed - understandable given the frequency of performances from the core group of a dozen or so "resident" musicians. That decade after leaving full-time study is a precious period; the time when, if greatness is to be achieved, it will start to show, and the point at which the brittle technical shell of prodigy gives way to a mature musical identity. How many festivals can boast this intense exposure to artists at that stage of development? After a year's break, Mitchell is fighting hard to make OCMF an annual event. I, for one, am very much hoping she gets the sponsorship she deserves before she and her peers are lost to the lonely world of large auditoria and concerto tours.a.picard independent.co.uk. By Simmy Richman Unless you are Radiohead or that new band from Melbourne who go by the name of Rocket Science, making rock music (or, more crucially, music rock) is not rocket science. Stripped down to its barest elements, all that is needed to get heads nodding in unison is a stonking riff, a steady beat, a strong soulful voice and a Transit full of feel. Just as perfect Italian restaurants always make you think, "That looks easy, I could do that", with their simple ethos and concentration on solid basics, so more and more musicians are catching on to the fundamentals of rock'n'roll - like, man, you mean we don't need those videoscreens and these 31 foot pedals? Which isn't to say that those accoutrements are not sometimes very lovely to have, it's just that, if the essentials are in place, you're not going to be needing those Spandex trousers.Which is where The Black Keys come in.

In a White Stripey world still desperately looking for the next small thing, The Black Keys arrive right on cue from Akron, Ohio; another bass-less two-piece with a penchant for the rough-and-ready blues of yesteryear. But comparisons are strange things; was The Office better than Fawlty Towers? Who cares? The point is they both made us laugh.Tonight, Dan Auerbach (21) and Patrick Carney (20-whatever-it's-not-fair) respectively plug in and pick up sticks in a sold-out 100 Club. Then they kick off with "Thickfreakness" from their first album proper of the same name And when I say kick off, I mean kick off. Boasting riffs so simple and brilliant that you can't believe they have not been written before and an opening line that can only be transcribed as "Well I whay oh whay/ Well I whay oh whay oh whay", this is unashamedly unintellectual rock, albeit played by two young men who look like they could write a mean and meaningful lyric if they wanted to, but hey, shouting "whay" over this just sounds so right.Put simply, for the Keys, simplicity is the key. There are the instant classics off Thickfreakness - "Set You Free" and "Hard Row". There are covers of old blues songs and a blistering unBeatled "She Said She Said". There are the band introductions ("That's Patrick, he plays drums".

Genius!), and there is Auerbach's voice which elevates everything and reminds you of Free, Cream, Hendrix and a whole heap of stuff he found lurking in his father's record collection.In this small-scale venue it all makes perfect sense. Carney's primal drumming (his kit has been stripped too; tom-toms, who needs them?) and Auerbach's guitar turned up to 11 make a sound that can go from ready-to-rip-restraint to soaring cacophony in the blink of an eye. But judging by the number of young men with eyes shut and the sweat pouring through their Led Zep T-shirts, small- scale venues will not hold The Black Keys for too much longer.What happens when they hit the big time is anyone's guess. Sure, a lot of the tunes would sound better with the right kind of loose and funky bass player. Sure, you can't keep recording albums in four days in your own studio.