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Last night at a sold-out Radio City Music Hall, it was great to see Battle, England’s Keane for the first time since 2012, in the same venue where, in 2005, I first interviewed lead singer Tom Chaplin (who also played keyboards on some songs), songwriter/keyboardist/singer Tim Rice-Oxley, and drummer/singer Richard Hughes (since joined by J.J. Quin on bass/keyboards/vocals) for The BigTakeover after being wowed by their powerful live show and dazzling 2004 debut LP Hopes and Fears (recently reissued in a 3LP deluxe version with great b-sides and unreleased demos), which, to the singing fans’ delight, was the focus of the 22-song set, with an exuberant Chaplin inspiring 1000s of backing vocalists in his newly-formed “Choir of the City of New York” to join him in the many soaring choruses, including classic breakthrough singles “Everybody’s Changing,” “Somewhere Only We Know,” and “This Is The Last Time.”
Chaplin is one of the best live singers I have ever seen, wrapping his supple and strapping voice around Rice-Oxley’s seemingly endless supply of sweepingly cinematic, sparklingly melodic compositions, with vulnerable confessional lyrics that resonate deeply within the ears and heart upon each rewarding repeated listen, and, with the dynamic rhythm section of Hughes & Quin, Keane reeled off a bounty of show-stopping moments, aided by dramatic stage lighting design, that had the audience showering them with multiple minutes-long ovations (even without playing some of their best later singles, no “Disconnected,” “Better Than This,” nor “Spiralling”).
Chaplin shared memories of Keane’s first NYC show in 2003 at The Mercury Lounge and of his struggles/isolation after success, resulting in Rice-Oxley approaching him with the 2nd LP Under the Iron Sea ballad “Hamburg Song.” Their beautiful duo version was one of many highlights in a very welcome return of one of my favorite bands, who, Chaplin promised during the encore, will be back soon with new music and U.S. touring.
Setlist
Can’t Stop Now
Silenced by the Night
Bend and Break
Your Eyes Open
Nothing in My Way
Sunshine
The Way I Feel
You Are Young
Everybody’s Changing
Hamburg Song
Untitled 1
A Bad Dream
Perfect Symmetry
Is It Any Wonder?
She Has No Time
This Is the Last Time
Crystal Ball
Somewhere Only We Know
Encore:
Snowed Under (Snippet)
We Might as Well Be Strangers
Sovereign Light Café
Bedshaped
