Music for the masses
Keane wowed their masses of fans with a set packed with hits at the 2007 Isle of Wight Festival.
Opening with 'Under the Iron Sea' album track 'Put It Behind You', the band soon had a large majority of the crowd singing to huge hit 'Everybody's Changing'. This was followed by singles 'Nothing In My Way' and 'Bend & Break'.
The last UK festival Keane played was V in 2006, which saw singer Tom Chaplin break from treatment for drink and drug problems. On this night it was clear he is a revitalized character, giving a high energy performance, including running along the massive walkway into the crowd that had been set up for the Stones later that night.
'This Is The Last Time', 'Atlantic' and 'Crystal Ball' followed Chaplin's crowd wandering and were lapped up with similar Enthusiasm to 'Everything Changes'. 'A Bad Dream' came next, with Chaplin telling the crowd "the next song you'll hear is my favourite Keane track".
The two biggest audience participation moments were for 'Somewhere Only We Know' and set closer 'Bedshaped', with 'Is It Any Wonder' sandwiched in the middle.
There's no denying Keane's enormous popularity, or that they're an extremely well oiled mainstream music machine. The trouble is that to the casual listener their music is amongst the most samey of any band around right now. This means that for those who aren't totally familiar with their work a Keane gig can become bland. It cannot be argued though that they have a large fan bass, one that waited for the Stones to take to the Isle of Wight Festival stage satisfied in the knowledge that Keane had given them exactly what they wanted.