There and Back Again

Watching: Last Call With Carson Daly
Pondering: I know nothing with certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream. (Vincent van Gogh)

My interest in the band Keane started with my sister’s fascination with lead singer Tom Chaplin’s wrist (yeah, that sounds weirder than it actually is). This fascination led to our discovery of a Keane feature in Comcast Cable’s ‘On Demand’ Music menu which led to my purchase of the ‘Hopes and Fears’ CD and all the B-side singles available in iTunes. You can guess that I’ve been hooked ever since.

I saw them perform live for the first time on Tuesday at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and saw them again tonight at the Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, California. Thanks to my office mate Norma who has inside connections with Bill Graham Presents, I got me and my sister really cool seats. Both shows were awesome and the guys who make up the band were fantastic. They sounded so good and the the songs were great. As if that wasn’t enough, they played ‘Snowed Under,’ one of their B-side songs which is one of my favorites.

Tom is a dynamic performer. A bit reserved, I think, when interacting with the crowd in between songs but he can effortlessly rouse the audience once he starts singing in his big voice and command the stage with his cool dance moves and sexy head-banging. Richard Hughes, the drummer, can rock my world anytime with his drumsticks. All the stress of the day go away with every bang of the drum set, every beat and every 1-2-3 count he makes. If I may add, he also has a most adorable face. And then there’s Tim Rice-Oxley, a man after my own heart. He’s the pianist and the brain behind most of the songs. The fellow amazes me to the fullest extent. He bangs that Yamaha CP70B like a man possessed and still looks good doing it. And the guy sings backing vocals! Oh, we all can just wish we had a piece of Tim’s talents and genius.

As we leave the venue, my sister and I noticed people milling around the parked tour bus. We decided to stick around and wait for the band to come out, get an autograph and maybe a handshake. We don’t normally do such things but what the heck, we were there and the possibilities of seeing them off-stage was too great to pass up. An hour or so later, they came out and signed autographs, chitchatted with fans and posed for photos. I lined up, waited for my turn and probably said something stupid when I finally got to stand in front of each one. I got all three signatures and pictures and yes, I had to shake my man Tim’s hand! Twenty minutes or so later, my sister and I were happy fans, headed to catch the second to the last train out of Berkeley and catch our connecting train to San Francisco.

This is when it finally dawned on me how stupid it all was. I’m not saying this as a reflection of the band because they were most gracious, most charming, most pleasant and most accommodating to their admirers. I’m not saying this either as a reflection of the other fans who waited around too. It’s just that the act of waiting around the bus, of lining up to get autographs and all the ogling and gushing (and I ogled and gushed at Tim, believe me!) — I found it all too embarrassing, too tacky on my part. After all, they are just mere mortals like me, albeit they are 100% more musically talented.

Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that I got to meet Tom, Rich and Tim but honestly, in hindsight it was probably one of the most embarrassing and — dare I say? — demeaning things I’ve ever done in my life. I probably won’t be doing it again soon or ever. And if I do get the chance to hobnob with Keane again, I’d prefer a chance encounter, a lucky break from the gods.

For now, I am content watching them on stage, from hopefully a front row seat next time.

TOM CHAPLIN

RICH HUGHES; TIM RICE-OXLEY