25th August 2013 Kenwood House
Battle's finest conclude their current tour at Kenwood House as part of British Heritage’s Live by the Lake concert series. Supported by a the talented soul singer Laura Mvula (check out her début album Sing To The Moon). Her set certainly put the 6,000 strong crowd into the mood for enjoying some quality music on a relaxing bank holiday Keanefest!
Chants of Keane-Oh! Ring out across the Hampstead park until Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes and Jessie Quinn casually take to the stage. They seem awestruck and humbled by the appreciative crowd that has turned out to see them. Tom launches into the anthemic You Are Young, the first track from new album Strangeland followed by Bend and Break.He is in fine voice and his vocals on We Might As Well Be Strangers are particularly heartfelt. He continues this high standard for the 19 song
set and shows no signs of fatigue. Seeing them live really brings out their distinctive style sans lead guitar and sets them apart from other alternative rock bands. They are solid as a band and really look like they are having fun.
The toe-tapping On The Road has the crowd swaying and singing along to its infectious piano melody as does Everybody's Changing. They take the concert up a gear for Is It Any Wonder? Then simultaneously slowed things down for a B Side rarity Snowed Under beautifullyperformed by Tom and Tim. They then pick it up again as they perform as if their life depended on it through the rest of the set to the tunes of This Is The Last Time, Bedshaped and Somewhere Only We Know which all of the audience seem to relish in.
The encore consisted of a homage to their home town in Sovereign Light Caféand crowd favourite, Crystal Ball.
Sadly there are no more performances scheduled for Keane this year. But if you need a Keane fix, the good news is they do have a Best Of Album due for release on November 11.