Keane at the Royal Oak Music Theater

A snowy Sunday night couldn't keep us away from another night on the town as we headed to Royal Oak to see Keane play at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.  While we have been to theater before for their beer fest, we have not actually seen a concert there, so check this off our bucket list!

We arrived just as the snow started to fall and minutes before the opening act, Youngblood Hawke, took the stage.  This quintet came out with a lot of energy and percussion instruments, so we knew we were in for a good set.  When they started into "We Come Running", the lead vocalist asked the crowd to sing along and it seemed as if there were quite a few in the crowd that knew this song.  They banged their instruments through about a 45-minute set that certainly at least made one new fan.  Just purchased the EP!

Keane kicked off their set around 9pm with "You are Young" from their fourth studio album released last year "Strangeland".  They kept it rolling with "Bend and Break", and the rest of the night was a nice blend between the hits from their previous albums and a sampling of new hits from "Strangeland".
Scottie and I were both surprised that the leader singer, Tom Chaplin, was not the pianist because both the vocals and piano melodies are by far what make Keane so wonderful.  I suppose we just never looked them up before, but both Chaplin and his right-hand man, Tim Rice-Oxley on the keys, rocked it through the evening.

Chaplin's vocals sounded just as crisp as the albums, at times even better.  While Rice-Oxley banged the keyboards with such energy and passion that he probably lost a few pounds in sweat.  That's not diminish Jesse Quin on the bass and Richard Hughes on the drums, who showed a little personality of his own snapping this photo midway through the show:

Here's the amazing setlist they put together for the show:

1. You Are Young 
2. Bend and Break 
3. Disconnected 
4. We Might as Well Be Strangers 
5. Nothing in My Way 
6. Silenced by the Night 
7. Everybody's Changing 
8. She Has No Time 
9. Neon River 
10. Spiralling 
11. A Bad Dream 
12. Hamburg Song 
13. On the Road 
14. My Shadow 
15. Is It Any Wonder? 
16. This Is the Last Time 
17. Somewhere Only We Know 
18. Bedshaped 
19. Encore: Sea Fog 
20. Encore: Sovereign Light Café 
21. Encore: Crystal Ball 

More photos here.