Keane, O2 Academy Brixton, London
Monday 11 June 2012
For a band that mostly makes songs about how hard it can be to get out of bed in the morning, Keane have achieved incredible longevity.
The East Sussex band first formed 15 years ago, when they were mocked by critics for being too far on the pop side of the indie spectrum, but they’ve sold over 10 million albums worldwide, and they’ve just released their fourth album, which returns to that early, inoffensive, piano-rock sound, so their formula must be working.
Tonight, the fans get wildly excited by those early hits, "Everybody’s Changing" and "Somewhere Only we Know", both from Keane’s debut album Hopes and Fears, and "Is it any Wonder" from their second album Under the Iron Sea. It's the tunes that tap into memories of university antics and teenage folly that strike a chord. The crowd gets a bit bored and makes small talk during the band's more experimental departures, such as Spiralling and Perfect Symmetry, where the 80s synth-pop sound is met with nothing more excitable than polite applause.
Lead singer Tom Chaplin is oblivious to any drop in enthusiasm from his fans, though, as he stands on a soapbox, legs apart, nodding smugly, acknowledging an adoration that isn’t always there. He doesn’t seem to notice whether the fans are chatting to their mates or cheering him on, as he shouts: "It’s absolutely lovely to be here tonight".
Tunes from the new album, Strangeland, that hark back to Keane’s early piano-led pop music, lift the mood. "On the Road" is a simple, happy song about letting friends help you on life’s journey, while mellow keyboard-led melodies on “Disconnected” tell a tale of a gulf appearing in a relationship.
As the night rolls on, themes of young love, sun-dappled days and the confusion and possibilities of youth are played out over and over as one track leaks into the next. Fuelled by beer and nostalgia, the crowd leave happy despite a lack-lustre finale. It may not be the most exciting band around, but Keane is still pulling in big crowds, and reminding them of their teenaged selves. Possibly the most moving moment of the night took place during the opening number, You Are Young from the new album, where the band and audience were chanting "you are young" and pumping their fists in the air, united in trying to halt the passage of time.
This article features Listen with Spotify
Setlist
You Are Young
Day Will Come
Everybody's Changing
Leaving So Soon?
The Starting Line
Spiralling
Neon River
Bend and Break
A Bad Dream
Perfect Symmetry
Strangeland
On The Road
We Might As Well Be Strangers
Disconnected
This Is The Last Time
Somewhere Only We Know
Is It Any Wonder?
Bedshaped
Sovereign Light Café
Encore:
Sea Fog
Silenced By The Night
Crystal Ball
Arts & Ents blogs
Doctor Who ‘The Name of the Doctor’ – Series 7, episode 13
What a wonderful way to end this momentous series in the 50th year of Doctor Who. From the start of ...
Friday Book Design Blog: Blurb special
Let's talk book blurbs, those quotes you get, usually from other writers, that are meant to entice y...
Something For The Weekend in London: May 17-19
Fela Kuti, Jewish food and The Great Gatsby are just some of the reasons why the rainy weather ahead...
- 1 Stoke City investigate 'religious abuse' after 'pig's head is found in Kenwyne Jones' locker'
- 2 Gove’s lesson: spare the comma, spoil the child
- 3 You thought Ryanair's attendants had it bad? Wait 'til you hear about their pilots
- 4 Join Ryanair! See the world! But we'll only pay you for nine months a year
- 5 It’s official: thanks to Stephen Hawking's Israel boycott, anti-Semitism is no more
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
The price of pacifism
Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond
Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?
Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes
Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save


Comments