Keane On Tour...
The band are back and sounding great says InSITE reporter Paul Rogers.
They’ve been labelled as boring by some people but for me Keane are one of the top bands in the country. I went along to see them at the NEC in Birmingham at the end of last month and was really impressed by what I saw.
The support act was The Dears, an up-and-coming Canadian band from Montreal. I am not saying that they can’t make it in the industry but they didn’t impress me at all, mainly because I couldn’t hear many of the lyrics and the dead end atmosphere didn't help either.
But this all changed when Keane came on stage. Coming out playing Atlantic from their second album Under the Iron Sea, Keane proved that they are one of the most musically gifted bands in the country. I still think that their first critically acclaimed No. 1 album Hopes and Fears is the more stronger, but some of the songs from Under the Iron Sea still sounded great live including Is It Any Wonder and Crystal Ball.
Fact: Keane don't have a guitarist.They play piano rock instead!
Any great band needs a great lead singer and Keane have that in Tom Chaplin. Not only is he very talented vocally but he also puts on a great performance, which is vital for the audience. This tour is a sort of comeback for Keane, particularly after Chaplin’s much publicised addiction problems, which led to a spell in The Priory last year, and Chaplin said as much on stage ‘I’ve had problems and you should feel sorry for me’.
Nevertheless, the gig was not about Tom Chaplin’s problems but the music that they played. The main highlights for me came from their first album, including classic songs like Everybody’s Changing, Somewhere Only We Know, This Is The Last Time and Bedshaped, which ended the night.
I really felt part of the show at this gig, whether singing along with Chaplin or enjoying the music provided by bassist and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley. All in all a top gig by a top band.
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