You could sense the anticipation in the bar before took to the stage - the guitar-free threesome have been praised by all the right people and we were expecting big things. Any doubts about whether the combination of just piano, drums and singing would really work live were short lived. Singer Tom Chaplin bounded onto the stage, opened his mouth and his soaring voice filled the hall, and everybody just stopped whatever they were thinking and watched spellbound for the entire set. To have a voice so rich and powerful is one thing, but to dare and make such broad, beautiful songs with only a piano for company is something else.
obviously love the songs they've written - at moments heartfelt and touching, but always uplifting, its hard not to just get carried away by them. Much of the stuff was unfamiliar - most pople in the crowd seemed to only really kow the singles "somewhere only we know" and "everybody's changing", but it didnt matter. Each song seemed better, more infectious than the last, largely because of the enthusiasm with which they were performed. The atmosphere crackled, and neck-hairs rose collectively with each crashing chorus. Chaplin could not once hide his grin - not even when introducing "She has no time" - a song written for him by Pianist Tim Rice-Oxley to help him get over an ex-girlfriend - (cue "aaah's" from all the girls i the crowd, of course). With the female vote won, all keane had to do was impress the rest of us by living up to our growing expectations. And they did - it felt like a privelidge to be there; with these songs, and this much enthusiasm, they look set to be absolutely massive.
Rating: 4.5/5
Band:
Venue: Leeds Met
24th April 2004
Words John Culkin
