When I heard The Black Keys were playing an arena tour in support of their newest release, El Camino, I’ll admit I was skeptical. Their songs may soundtrack lots of commercials, and they won a Grammy, but arenas are where people like Bruce Springsteen and Madonna play. Could these grown-up indie upstarts really pack the Verizon Center? And more importantly, would their two-person blues-pop combo—-a single drummer and single guitar player—-really generate a sound big enough to fill so large a space? Judging from the first four songs of the set that the local photographer corps were admitted to shoot: The answer to all of these questions was yes.

See a photo slideshow from Friday’s show here.