Keane Curates In Aid of War Child - Apollo - 31/10/07 by
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War Child is a charity that was first set up in 1993 in response to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and its affects on the children. Links with the music and film industry stem right back to its origins and the success of its ‘Help’ album in 1995 firmly put it on the musical map. Although starting in Yugoslavia, the charity expanded rapidly and now runs innovative and positive projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Keane have long had an association with the charity and as active supporters they arranged two mini festivals in London (Brixton Academy) and Manchester at the beloved Apollo. It was at the aforementioned venue that a very mixed crowd had gathered in order to both support the charity and have a packed night full of entertainment. This reviewer wasn’t sure whether the eclectic crowd (that ranged from kids to those not far off the free bus pass) had gathered because they were fans of the radio friendly Keane or supporters of the cause, but regardless, they were all music lovers that wanted to have a good time.
Support for the headliners came from Milburn and Findlay Brown and it was the latter that opened up the night to what was initially only a half full Apollo. Introduced by a compere wearing a Peter Kay mask the event already had the feel of The Secret Policeman’s Ball – sadly without the attendance. Sounding like a mix between acoustic pop and folk he touched upon Crosby, Stills & Nash via The Coral and Paul Simon. Although pleasant, it hardly set the venue alight and the baton was passed, via the slightly annoying compere, to Milburn. Now this lot were a hotly tipped act only last year, but despite the recent release of their second album they seem to have gone off the boil. As a support act though they more than filled the bill and full of energy they sounded like a cross between Razorlight and the Artic Monkeys mixed once again with a smidgen of The Coral. In between song banter the lead singer endeared the group to the conversational crowd and in particular the recent single ‘What will you do (when the money goes)’ finally made it start to feel like a proper event. Leaving the stage they had certainly done their job as a warm up act and probably converted many amongst the talkative masses to the Milburn cause.
By this stage though it was obvious who the crowd wanted to see and nobody apart from their beloved Keane would suffice. Looking around the venue before the video screen (that had been displaying War Child images and information all night) rose towards the roof it was pleasing to see the Apollo suddenly looked like it was at capacity. As the lights dropped and the excitement built the masked compere returned to the stage much to everyone’s bemusement. Addressing the audience in a nasal voice the character suddenly whipped his mask off and a thunderous cheer went around the venue. Sir Peter Kay, beloved of Bolton and the North (and South and East and West come to think of it…) was actually the compere behind the mask and the crowd loved it. An unexpected 20 minute random set (with it has to be said frequent use of heavy expletives) followed and he had the crowd, and the drunken hecklers, in the palm of his hand. ‘I could have been home watching Taggart on Sky but I couldn’t turn down free Keane!!’ he joked much to the crowds amusement. Keane were in for a tough act to follow but the moment they stormed on stage the crowd knew they were up for it.
Opening with The Iron Sea this was suddenly a gig. The
once talkative crowd were now focused on the stage with
their hands aloft singing along to every word. Launching
straight into Everybody’s Changing Keane were unashamedly
pulling out the big guns much to the audiences delight.
Tom, the lead singer with the well documented drug problems
looking like they had been confined to the past, strutted
around the stage looking slim and confident. Doing his
best Jesus impression he held his arms wide as the adoring
crowd sang back at him and the band loved it. Filling
the venue with a wall of sound Keane looked and sounded
like they were on top form – a far cry but from their
subdued performances of last year when the troubled
vocalist’s issues came to light. It came as somewhat
of a surprise then to suddenly hear him shout before
another sing-along anthem ‘this is worth getting up
off your death bed for!’, as it just didn’t make sense.
Moving quickly through the set they stormed the venue but it was apparent to the more than casual observer that something was wrong. Despite the band's energetic performance, Tom was frequently seen leaving the stage in between the songs that he led so passionately in front of the masses. Exiting the stage after an hour or so the audience cheered the band on for the expected encore and it came as somewhat of a surprise to see Peter Kay return to the stage. ‘Toms f*cked! He really is – I’m not joking!’ he told the crowd before holding court for the final ten minutes of the concert. Despite the band failing to return to the stage smiles were on the faces of all those around and Keane, despite the cut short set list, had conquered.
Later news reports would highlight the fact that Tom had earlier been struck down with a severe throat infection and gastroenteritis and had been sick all day. It turned out that during the performance he had also been sick and paramedics had to be called to help Tom after the show. It is simply quite remarkable that the man had the grit and determination to go on with the show and we salute him for doing so. It must be remembered that this event was more than about entertainment.
This was a serious charity money raising event with a message to send to the crowd. ‘One child in Iraq dies every five minutes as a direct result of the war’. A sobering thought on a very entertaining night. Thank-you Tom, thank-you Keane, we heard the message loud and clear and despite the average support acts had an incredible night.
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