You could have been forgiven for thinking you were at Old Trafford rather than The Forum as cries of "Keano, Keano!" reverberated around the old building in anticipation of one of the hottest acts around at the moment. The question was, could Hastings trio Keane live up to the hype that had packed out venues around Britain on the basis of a couple of singles and the promise that they were the next big thing?
Playing on the day that their debut album, Hopes And Fears, was released, one thing became clear as soon as they bounded onto the stage - they were going to enjoy themselves. Rarely can a singer have shown as much enthusiasm as chubby-faced Tom Chaplin did as he skipped around the stage during a trio of up-tempo numbers which opened the gig. The sound was impressive, considering the lack of a guitarist, but it all lacked some cutting edge and dare I say it, they were even verging on being poppy. For a band compared to Coldplay, this was not a good start.
Things were to improve though. Piano-soaked ballad Sunshine saw them move up through the gears and they soon reached full-throttle with a trio of gems, starting with the anthemic We Might As Well Be Strangers. Chaplin is the kind of chap who you can imagine enjoys having a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake with his gran and when he told the story of lost love behind She Has No Time, a song reminiscent of A-Ha in their pomp, I think every girl in the audience wanted to give him a hug.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the night though was the song which alerted most people to their potential in the first place - Somewhere Only We Know. After some of the earlier songs it was a real tour de force brimming with cutting edge and a chorus that stayed in your head long after the gig had ended.
To close the show, and the tour, This Is The Last Time seemed very apt. Another song which is sure to become a Keane anthem, it was the cue for more dancing around the stage from Mr Chaplin who still had the same beaming smile on his face that he had started the night with.
Make no mistake about it, Keane are a good band and are sure to have chart success. However, Coldplay they are not, and they are currently balancing on the tightrope between indie and pop. It will be interesting to see on which side they fall.
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