Liverpool Academy 3, 17 February 2004

The rise of Sussex band Keane has been nothing short of spectacular. Picked up by the Simon Williams of Fierce Panda label fame, and after the release of just two limited release singles (that have been changing hands on Ebay for over £20), the band have been signed by Island Records on a long-term deal (reputed to be for twenty albums). As you would imagine, I was keen to see Keane to assess just how good they are. The Liverpool Academy is fast becoming my favourite haunt because of its friendly and organised environment, good sound/lighting (at the two larger venues), and easy parking. Rather like Manchester University, there are three Academy venues on the campus ranging from 2,000 punter capacity to 250, and Keane were performing in the smallest that is usually reserved for young hopefuls - kinda weird and wonderful. It felt surreal arriving at the campus to find so few people milling around (in complete contrast to recent NME and Darkness shows) and to be directed way down to a dark entrance at the back of the building. It was early so the cosy and warm venue was sparsely populated and a prime position at the front of the stage (which seemed to take up about a quarter of the venue’s space) was there for the taking. So who loves Keane? It became pretty obvious that the band have some of the most attractive, well-educated young female and male supporters, and it was without doubt the ‘prettiest’ crowd I think I’ve ever seen. Supporting was Grand Transmitter, a band I knew absolutely nothing about. A frantic Internet search the following day revealed that the band is from Manchester, was formed by four friends and were ‘spotted’ at the annual music industry In The City bash. Musically, the band is steeped in a strong song and melody culture with influences from the great singer/songwriters. At 8.45pm the venue was almost full as Grand Transmitter wandered onto the brightly lit stage.

Grand Transmitter

Jake Fletcher (vocals, piano, guitar), James Pickering (guitar, keyboards), John Hilton (bass), and Gavin Ahern (drums) seemed introverted, just a bit nervous and pretty ramshackle. But they write and perform great music. Lead man Fletcher never missed a note as he wandered between keyboards and guitar. As the other band members immersed themselves in their instruments (to the exclusion of everything else), Fletcher gave an animated and highly skilled vocal performance which connected like super glue.

Believe me when I state that it’s rare to come across a new band that truly impresses. Songs like Slaves, Mangled, Strange, Don’t Go Down and Eleanor’s Journey are rare gems that provide proof positive that Grand Transmitter have a bright future ahead of them. The songs were melodic, distinctive, passionate, moving and Fletcher made the most of them in a less than ideal acoustic environment. Musically the band is a sort of hardcore Coldplay and they gave one of the best instrumental displays I have seen from a new band in some time. Ahern on drums played a key role in supplying drama and urgency, while Pickering excelled on keyboards and at one point was plunging at the keys and strings at the same time…

Audience reaction is everything and especially for a new band looking to break through. Remembering that this audience was here to see their heroes Keane, the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic with each song receiving strong acclaim. Fletcher announced that a debut E.P. is due out in March and I strongly recommend that you look out for it. It could just be one of the year’s most important releases.

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Keane

The support band had done a spectacular job in warming up a capacity audience. At 10.00pm precisely Keane walked onto a stage housing just one massive drum set and keyboards. Tom Chaplin (vocals), Tim Rice-Oxley (piano) and Richard Hughes (drums) look like university undergraduates and handsome with it. In fact if you combined the slim and tall body of Chaplin, with the face of Rice-Oxley and the smile of Hughes you’d have the perfect male model… I wondered whether it was this attractiveness that endeared the many beautiful gals that crowded the venue. But it wasn’t as I also noticed that most of the songs were mouthed word-perfect by all around me as the gig progressed.

There was one thing missing in the makeup of this particular acoustic rock band – a guitar. Not even the mellow wood of an acoustic guitar standing at attention in its resting cradle. With Chaplin centre-stage, flanked by drums and piano, I wondered just how this would pan out. Can’t Stop Now opened proceedings and a cloudy eyed Chaplin immediately impressed with a vocal that echoed the song’s sentiments perfectly. Major applause ensued of an order more commonly associated with a performance well-warmed and blowing a gale. The familiar and pleasant song Everybody’s Changing followed and then came one of the songs of the night, Your Eyes Open. While the audience became more and more excited, I was beginning to notice that things weren’t actually that great; good but not great. Chaplin seemed to carry the band through his vocals, accompanied by drum and keyboard work that was less than inspiring. While a recording can sneak in some strings, a live performance couldn’t, and I felt this left a major gap in the performance with over-reliance on a lone and hard-worked vocal to carry it all off. And a guitar would have helped…

Be that as it may, Chaplin made a huge fist of it and, despite some strain showing in the longer and higher notes, sang She Has No Time, Bend And Break and Strangers like a trooper and to good effect. The opening session closed with Snowed Under, Sunshine and the lovely Somewhere Only We Know.

The screams for an encore were deafening and prompted a return with my highlight of the night Allemande, latest single This Is The Last Time and a rocky Bedshaped. With the debut album due out in May, I think we had all listened to a full preview of its contents.

For me, this was an ‘almost’ performance. Chaplin gave his all in a passionate performance, and the songs were pleasant enough with a couple achieving very special status. However, while I may be just a tad lukewarm Keane fans loved a performance and the buzz after the show was tangible. Ultimately, it was an excellent gig, and infinitely preferable to staying in to watch The Brits.