New York (Top40 Charts/ Universal
Music Enterprises) - On July 21st 2007,
Keane arrived at London's O2
Arena for the climax of the 18-month world tour which had accompanied their multi-million selling second album Under The Iron Sea. Since the album's release in June 2006, it's fair to say the band had experienced some amazing highs and some major lows.
Keane did their best to respond to both extremes in the same way; by continuing to get out there and play life-affirming shows to their huge worldwide fanbase.
Following sold-out arena dates across Europe, America and Latin America, Keane returned to the city where, just five years before, they'd been unsigned hopefuls on the pub circuit. This time, rather than playing to a sparsely filled backroom, the band were headlining to 17,000 dedicated fans, a record-breaking crowd for the O2. To preserve this one-off occasion, they invited legendary concert director Dick Carruthers (The Who, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, White Stripes) to film it for their second DVD release (following 2005's acclaimed Strangers). Now, Universal Music Enterprises is proud to announce the first-ever U.S. release of Keane LIVE on DVD and Blu-ray on July 14, 2009.
The band didn't disappoint. From the moment the gig burst to life with an incendiary "Everybody's Changing," Keane had those 17,000 fans spellbound, delivering anthem after anthem from the 2-million selling Under The Iron Sea and its 5.5-million selling predecessor, Hopes And Fears. With Richard Hughes' propulsive drumming, Tim Rice-Oxley's heart-tearing keyboard melodies, and Tom Chaplin's second-to-none live singing voice, these three men proved just how well they can fill a huge room with their beautiful, brooding and enormously touching music.
Highlights of the show include a belting "Is It Any Wonder," a singalong-tastic "Somewhere Only We Know," a spellbinding "Hamburg Song" delivered on a B-stage in the middle of the arena, and a foreboding "A Bad Dream," introduced by the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon reading the poem which inspired the song, "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" by W B Yeats. The gig eventually culminates amidst a sea of ticker tape with an exhilarating rendition of "Bedshaped," leaving the hairs standing up on the back of around 17,000 necks.
The London Times summed up the mood of both band and crowd by calling the gig "a triumphant homecoming." Now everyone will be able to relive the experience through this DVD and Blu-ray, which also feature a host of behind-the-scenes extras, offering a fascinating insight into the build up to the show. They include a second angle of the whole concert, footage of the soundcheck, a short film made backstage, and the live visuals from several songs.
At one point during the show, a clearly-moved Tom Chaplin says, "I'm so glad that we are recording this show forever."
