Indians: Black Keys drummer filling in for legendary Tribe fan

How do you replace a Cleveland drumming legend? Well, with a Cleveland drumming legend, obviously. The Associated Press (via ESPN) is reporting that legendary Cleveland rock band, The Black Keys, will see their drummer fill in for John Adams for the Indians Home Opener. The Black Keys drummer is Patrick Carney, a life-long Indians fan, and an apparent admirer of Adams.

Carney, whose band has risen to fame over the last decade with hits like “Lonely Boy” and “Little Black Submarines”, will fill in for Adams on Monday, April 5 as the Indians will take on the Tigers at Progressive Field in their Home Opener.

For fans who don’t know who Adams is, he’s been an Indians fan for most of his life and has spent the last 48 years attending opening day in Cleveland. Adams, who had surgery recently, usually sits out in left field, pounding away on the iconic drum that echoes through the stadium on a per-game basis.

He rarely misses a game and when he does, someone is always seemingly ready to step in for him. If you’ve been to an Indians home game at any point over the last near 30 years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard him pounding away on his drum out there.

The Indians organization and the fanbase couldn’t have asked for a better stand-in for Adams than Carney. The long-time Cleveland-area rocker has played on and helped produce some of the best albums out there and fans in attendance should get a rare treat of seeing a legendary rock star sitting among the cheap seats.

While it won’t be your conventional sellout, the Indians are expected to have most, if not all, of their allocated seats sold out. The stadium is allowed to have 30% capacity to start the season and every single fan who decides to attend will be greeted with what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Mr. Adams, we’re all hoping for a speedy recovery.