Somewhere Only We Know

Exactly 4 years ago on May 12th, 2005, Keane played in Salt Lake for the first time. I was there with Niki and we had a blast. When I found out Keane was going to be back I knew we needed to be there. I forgot about it the day they went on sale, so it wasn't until they had been on sale for hours that I got us some tickets, they were decent and since the show was at Kingsbury, I figured there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

What a day. Picking Niki up and trying to get onto the freeway was crazy. Construction forced us into one lane, and when the person in front of us decided to turn left even though there was a "No Left Turn" and that also meant that no one behind them would get through the light, so I laid on my horn. Several times. The guy in car was obviously irritated and looked like he was going to get out of the car and "have words" with me, but didn't and they pulled forward just enough that I could get around them, but if I'd had a bigger vehicle I couldn't have. There are never cops when you need them.

We headed to dinner at Rumbi's downtown and the food was super yummy. I'm not going to find out how many calories were in that salad, I'm going to pretend that it was good for me because it had lettuce! After finishing we were excited to get going. Too excited apparently. I backed out of the parking space, looking over one shoulder to watch for oncoming parking lot traffic and heard the tell-tale crunch. Great, now I was going to have to pay for someone else's bumper. Again. Maybe this will teach me not to really look. I thought I had already learned that lesson. I got out of the car with insurance in hand and the guy driving the other car looked at his bumper, which was cracked and smudged with my paint and told me not to worry about it. The crack had already been there and he wasn't concerned about the cosmetic damage. My bumper is probably a little more dinged then it already was, but I could care less about a shiny car at this point. I thanked him and we took off, more carefully this time. Looking for parking for Kingsbury we found this parking lot that had a cop and sign that said "Kingsbury hall permits only" so I was going to ask said cop where I should park and he said just to pick an empty spot in the lot. Score! We waltzed into Kingsbury and they must have started promptly at 7:30 because at 7:35 when we got there, the opening act was already there. Helio Sequence, they were good. The drummer was completely nuts. Making crazy faces while playing the throwing his head around. I need to check out their myspace and see what they sound like un-live. They coming back to Salt Lake next month for a show at the urban lounge, so I should know if I want to go to that.

Next came on Mat Kearney, who I am fond of, and after a bit of research found out he has had 4 songs on Grey's Anatomy. That show is a career starter! He was good, he played some new stuff and I debate whether I should get a few more of his songs. He played "All I Need" which was amazing and beautiful, and always melts my black, little heart.

His voice was so crisp and clear and exactly as it is on the recordings. He oozed confidence and his voice soared. He also rocked a cool hat, so another plus for him.

Then it was Keane! The boys came out and played "The Lovers Are Losing" which is off the new album. The one I don't have. I've listened to it many times online over the past few days. I love some of the songs. the rest leave me a bit cold. I was hoping that seeing them live I would get more into them, but the first song was a keeper. And then I remembered why 4 years ago I decided that Keane was the best show I'd ever seen. The lead singer Tom, is a force of nature. He doesn't just sing the songs, he's a real performer. He engages the crowd and jumps around and emotes all the passion in the song. It also helps that his voice is like that of an angel. Then it was some songs from the debut album 'Hopes and Fears' which were a real crowd pleaser. Everyone knew all the words, and at this point I realised I couldn't see a single empty seat. Well, sort of. We were all on our feet, vacating our seats and rocking out. Tom even thanked us for leaving our seats and really getting into the show. I didn't know we even had this many Keane fans in the whole state.

When they started a song from the middle album, "A Bad Dream", I was pleased. I've had this one for years and felt I knew it well. Of course I usually listen to it at work, so I didn't know the words except the chorus, but it was still really good and also made me want to listen to this album more, since I should know it better than I do.

Tom was dancing and playing guitars, he had more guitar changes then Morrissey has shirt changes during a show. This was the first tour and album with guitars. Keane has always been a piano-based band, since Tim Roce-Oxley, the pianist, is really the creative force behind the band. That is what thrust them into the spotlight, being a band that didn't have a guitar. I liked the added element, but unfortunately for several songs, it also muddied the melodies and completely drowned out not only the piano, but also some of the vocals. It could have just been the mix last night, but it made me wish they wouldn't also have the guitar or bass in the background, these songs don't need it, they rock out hard enough without them.

And speaking of rocking, Tim was so intense. He really should have whiplash. He plays the piano with his whole body. That was one of the reasons I loved Break and Repair Method, Paul's piano playing, but Tim take it up to a whole different level. He's head banging his way through the songs and playing up the crowds. He was so fun to watch. Also fun to watch was the 60-something year old man in the crowd. He was tall, which is why I probably noticed him, but he was rocking the air-drums and dancing and singing along to it all. I hope when I'm that old, if my face hasn't caved in, that I can still rock with the kids and enjoy music that's played loudly at 11.

The band got to some more new songs, new songs that I didn't love or even like that well, and I was hopeful. But they didn't come through for me, they sounded a bit Keane-by-numbers for me, in that they sounded like other Keane songs, but without anything to really make them special. At this point I decided that I would download the songs I liked, and leave the ones I didn't. Bless this age of technology where you don't have to spend $15 on an album for 3 or 4 amazing songs.

They finished there set with "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Crystal Ball" and the crowd loved it. They left and people chanted "Keane Keane" and clapped and screamed. It was soooo loud! They came back on, clearly gratified with the crowds appreciation for the show. They played "Is it Any Wonder?" and got the energy going again. After that song I didn't know if they were going to leave or play us one more, but I crossed my fingers and then followed "Bedshaped" which they used to close there last show, and there's a reason. It's beautiful and intense. We walked out the door right by our seats and saw they had a little caution-line barricade in front of the buses, so Niki and I stopped to wait. Stalking rock stars is slow business.

Then we saw my friend from the Travis show, Robert. So we waited by him and his friend at the barricade. There were probably 30-40 people waiting and it was starting to get cold. We only had thin hoodies and the winds were gusty and chilly. Tom came out and I got him to sign my CD booklet and a picture with him. I asked him about whiplash and he said his neck does get soar and sometimes he also gets dizzy and then he just pulls back on the headbanging. He suffers so in the name of Rock. Then we waited. It seemed like they could only come out one at a time, and it was a long line for them to get through. But they were gracious and talked to everyone and took pictures when asked. Next the drummer Richard came out wearing a Utah t-shirt. He was really nice and I told him this show was better then the first one and then when he asked if I had been to the show 4 years ago everyone around me was all "I was there! Me!" but I guess people go nuts when rock stars are around.

Then the bassist/guitarist came out. I was going to have him sign my ticket, since I didn't really want him to sign and he might not have wanted to sign an album that he didn't play on. But he was nice and chatted for minute.

Then we waited more. It was late, after midnight, and I had 2 of 3 signatures on my CD case. I almost wanted to give up. I was shivering and feeling generally like I wanted to lie down, but we persisted. Then Tom finally came out. He said he would go down the line and sign things and THEN come back for photos. I didn't want to wait forever, so I got my CD signed, told him he was such a ball of charisma and we took off. Although I did have to stop and take a picture of his shoes, I didn't get a great look at them but they looked like winkle pickers, which was the rock star shoe of choice in the 60s and has a very pointy toe. The heater in the car worked surprisingly well and we got toasty soon. Very pleased with my most recent encounter with rock stars. I'll definitely see Keane again when they come, and I have already downloaded 4 songs from the new album. And you should too.

The fruits of my labor. The perfectly signed CD.