CityLife

Keane

STANDING in the middle of an adoring M.E.N. Arena crowd, rosy-cheeked Tom Chaplin has a confession.

“When we first came to Manchester six or seven years ago we felt incredibly intimidated by this city as so many of our music heroes come from here,” smiles the Keane frontman bashfully. “But coming out here tonight it feels completely different.”

And well it should. Back then they were plying their wares at the likes of Night and Day. As ringlet-haired and blushing as a band of choirboys on the run.

Tonight, for their arrival on the arena stage, they’re looking leaner and sounding sharper than ever before.

They’ve had their ups and downs since those early days – most notably Chaplin’s spell at rehab for drink and drug addiction. Although, that piece of oh-so rock n roll rebellion does seem to have gone someway to shredding their too-cherubic-to-be-true image.

Now, just as Tom’s angelic curls have been shorn to an uber cool crop – to match that on-trend '80s-style drainpipe jeans and gold jacket combo he’s sporting on stage - so too the entire group has undergone an arena-style makeover.

Shabby student union escapees

Last seen in Manchester at the Apollo, Keane had the sound of a band who could be great and the look of shabby student union escapees.

How they have upped their game since then. While so many acts seem happy to churn out the same old gigs whatever the venue, Chaplin and co have really raised the bar for their arrival on the arena-sized stage.

The set – all neon lights and flashing screens – and the new image couldn’t be slicker. But it’s the sound that really shows their worth.

Early classics such as Bedshaped and Somewhere Only We Know sound better than ever in this cavernous arena setting, filling the space in a way only big-sound bands manage. While later hits such as Crystal Ball seem to soar into the air.

More recent numbers from the more experimental recent album Perfect Symmetry, including the deliciously jumpy '80s electro-pop of Spiralling, lifted the gig way above the indie norm.

However, music and image makeovers aside, it is Chaplin himself who really makes this a gig worthy of such a setting. Commanding the stage with the theatrical posturing of a Shakespearean stage star and a voice of rare power and range.

Standing alone in the centre of the crowd, for a brief acoustic slot, he fills the room just singing along to a guitar.

No need to feel intimidated, Tom, looks like you’ve earned a place on the stage alongside your Manchester heroes.

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