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Keane in Zurich - 31 January 2020
When bands take a seven-year hiatus, you might be forgiven for thinking that they'll never get back together again. It's all the more pleasing, then, when they release a new album, go on tour, and prove that they're still tremendous in a live setting.
And why are they so tremendous? In Keane's case, it is because Tom Chaplin has one of the most stunning voices in pop; because Tim Rice-Oxley is an excellent songwriter; and because together with bassist Jesse Quin and drummer Richard Hughes, the band form a tight unit whose bonds of friendship go back to their school days.
Their 2004 debut album "Hopes and Fears" topped the charts, as did all of their subsequent albums. Even if you think you've never heard of them, you will have heard their earworm hits. "Somewhere Only We Know", "Everybody's Changing" and "Nothing In My Way" are proper arm-waving, lighters-aloft, sing-along tunes.
In Zurich, Keane's two-hour concert showcased these songs and many, many more, taking the audience through their whole back catalogue and into new album "Cause and Effect".
What stood out - and what I remember most from seeing them in the noughties and beyond - is their knack for gorgeous melodies. Chaplin is key, of course: his crystal-clear vocals were particularly sublime in stripped-back versions of "She Has No Time" and "Try Again".
New songs "Love Too Much" and "The Way I Feel" slotted in seamlessly, adding thumping beats and electronica to their softer-edged fare. It was a triumphant return to the stage by a band who have lost none of their power to evoke joy in music-lovers' hearts.
Keane were supported by London singer-songwriter Eliza Shaddad, who took to the stage on her own, armed with just a guitar, and won the crowd over with her lovely husky voice.
- Anna Wirz
Promoter: Good News Productions AG
Photos of Eliza Shaddad are here.
Keane Setlist (Source: Setlist.fm):
You're Not Home
Day Will Come
Silenced by the Night
Stupid Things
Everybody's Changing
Is It Any Wonder?
Strange Room
Disconnected
Bend and Break
The Lovers Are Losing
She Has No Time
The Way I Feel
Spiralling
A Bad Dream
Try Again
Nothing in My Way
Love Too Much
You Are Young
This Is the Last Time
Bedshaped
Somewhere Only We Know
Encore:
Phases
Crystal Ball
Sovereign Light Café