Hits In The Car

It's probably about time to post a few comments on the Keane / Rufus Wainwright concert Friday night. As my post Friday clearly indicated I'm not all that familiar with Rufus Wainwright, but nevertheless I thought he delivered a really fine (though rather short) performance as warm-up.
If nothing else this concert sure revealed that he's a great songwriter and has the most fantastic voice.
In general he had a very positive attitude and was very good at communicating with the audience in between the songs. Vega is a fantastic place for concerts and it definitely looked as if he enjoyed playing there. Several times during the concert he said that he was looking forward to coming back to Vega (and he WILL be back on 8 May 2005).

I started listening to Keane at the end of 2003 before the debut album was released. I had downloaded several of their first minor releases giving me the opportunity to become familiar with them before they became "household" names. So when Keane played in Vega a little less than a year ago (13 April 2004) I was one of the few hundred people there, meaning that the concert Friday night was my second "round" with the band. The past year I must admit that I've been slowly growing tired of their music, which seems to have been everywhere (TV, radio, shopping malls - you name it). Still I thought that it would be cool to see them in concert again.
When watching them play live you feel that it wouldn't hurt if they added a guitarist, but the concert actually gave the impression of being a rock concert despite them being just 3 men on stage (singer, drummer and the dude making noises on the keyboard). The guys gave everything they had and didn't seem tempted to imitate the polished sound of the album, meaning that you never felt like you could have played that one instead.
Compared to last year the band seemed far more "open" and used to play in front of a larger audience, which left you with a feeling that they really had a great time performing.
The only complaint I'm able to make is that they didn't play any of the excellent b-sides like Snowed Under and To The End Of The Earth but instead opted to play a couple of new songs. But that is just a minor objection and it definitely didn't ruin a very good concert.

So overall I think my Friday night was very well spent!

Two new albums added to my CD-Collection:
Athlete: Tourist
New Order: Waiting For The Sirens' Call