Keane @ Cafe Du Nord

Wednesday, Jun. 02, 2004 - 8:21 a.m.

I arrived at the CDN at about eight fifteen pm, and Brian was nowhere in sight. John confirmed that he'd purchased two tickets, one for me and one for Brian, and the guy at the door issued me my stamp and my bracelet.

Brian showed up at about twenty after. He'd managed to find parking fairly close.

He was issued his stamp and bracelet, and we went inside after saying goodbye to John. John went home to unwind, and to watch "Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King".

Brian and I went into the Cafe Du Nord and discovered that it's subterranean. It's got a really lovely sound system, too.

I'd had the bright idea of taking pictures with my camera phone instead of risking losing a disposable to security, but they didn't even pat us down. And it turned out to be too dark in the venue for the camera phone. Grrmph.

Brian offered me some ear plugs, but I declined and explained that I was losing my hearing.

Then he did something that caused a moment of white-hot anger that almost resulted in me slapping him on the face: He did the one thing, the ONE thing that I have grown to despise in these last several months -- he mouthed words without saying anything. My peripheral vision faded, and it was all I could do to stay calm and not burst into tears and ruin the rest of the evening. Of all the people in my universe, he was one of the very last people I would have considered as being so thoughtless. So that was kind of a sad discovery. But I know Brian isn't the kind of guy who would deliberately hurt me, so he got a get out of jail free card, and in a few minutes, I calmed down and tried to concentrate on the show.

At eight thirty the first band, Aveo, took the stage. Near the end of their set, three people pushed past me in the crowd.

It was Keane, heading to the side entrance of the stage, because the venue was so small they didn't have a Special Secret Entrance for the main act.

At nine fifteen, the second band, Matt Pond PA, took the stage. When he was done, though, he also did a lot of his own roadie work, which impressed me.

The sound check and setup between Matt Pond PA and Keane took a half hour.

But at last, at ten forty-five, Keane took the stage. They looked great, and began their set with 'Can't Stop Now', followed by 'Bend and Break', 'Everybody's Changing', 'We Might As Well Be Strangers', 'Sunshine', 'Somewhere Only We Know', 'She Has No Time', a couple of songs I could not identify, and then they closed with 'Bedshaped'.

Overall, I was impressed with the enthusiasm and charm of Keane. They are polished, and their songs are of the same quality live as they are on the album.

If you're going to purchase a version of their CD Hopes and Fears, get the UK one. But the US one is the only version offered at their shows.

There's a very nice purple shirt with the Keane logo on it and the outlines of a bunch of leaves. I'll probably snag one in Denver.

And wherever there is a Virgin Megastore, they'll probably appear earlier that afternoon there when they come to town.

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Last night was pretty, weatherwise. And I was able to walk up a big hill to get to Brian's car after the show. He drove me home, made sure I got in okay, and so I decided to let him live.

John wasn't expecting me for awhile yet, so when I walked in, he was brushing his teeth. He almost jumped into the sink.

I went to sleep, finally, at around two thirty this morning. But it's late spring, and the sun comes up early. I got up again at six thirty.

I am pleased to report that I am not sore from standing or tired from walking.

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If you get a chance to go see anybody perform at the Cafe Du Nord, do it. It's a really lovely venue.

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