Under the Iron Sea Tour

The Under the Iron Sea Tour was the second world tour made by English rock band Keane after the release of their second album Under the Iron Sea.

Keane

• Tom Chaplin – vocals, organ, acoustic guitar, piano
• Tim Rice-Oxley – piano, synths, backing vocals
• Richard Hughes – drums, percussion, backing vocals

History

The tour began in June 2006, shortly after Keane concluded a successful stint opening for the third leg of U2's Vertigo Tour. Buoyed by the fact that Keane was judged in a U2 fan poll to be the second best supporting act in the band's history (trailing only The Pixies and well ahead of the likes of Lone Justice and Little Steven), Keane approached the Under the Iron Sea tour with a newfound aggressiveness. No longer attempting to somehow minimise the band's simple instrumental lineup, Keane instead highlighted it both visually and in terms of sound. The Daily Mirror reported that not since Elton John in the 1970s had a performing band so willfully promoted piano as a replacement for guitar in the concert scheme of things.

In particular, on this tour Keane emphasized the percussive nature of the piano, since they had discovered during the U2 shows that the piano sound echoed off the back walls of arenas, giving it a delayed, doubling sound effect that further made the group's sound dense. Thus for the Under the Iron Sea tour, the group's sound crew added a delay element into the processing of the piano mic pickups, thereby reproducing that arena effect in the band's smaller-sized venues when headlining.

Since Chaplin entered rehabilitation on 22 August 2006 it was suggested the tour should not be continued until early 2007. However, after Concert Live's announcement of the release of special edition CDs of every remaining 2006 Keane live performance in the UK, it was believed Chaplin had actually left the clinic; he was released on 6 October. Keane made their "comeback" concert (their first since Chaplin entered rehabilitation) in Hull Arena on Tuesday, 17 October 2006.

In early December 2006, Keane announced that they would play five shows on the North American West Coast in January 2007. They also visited Mexico and South America, playing for the first time in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

The Under the Iron Sea tour ended with performances in Oporto, Portugal, and at the Natural Music Festival in El Ejido, Spain, on 3 and 4 August respectively.

Set list

Keane's set list on this tour changed numerous times. Additionally, "The Frog Prince" was often omitted.

1. "The Iron Sea"
2. "Put It Behind You"
3. "Atlantic"
4. "Everybody's Changing"
5. "Bend and Break"
6. "The Frog Prince"
7. "Nothing in My Way"
8. "A Bad Dream"
9. "This Is the Last Time"
10. "Hamburg Song"
11. "Somewhere Only We Know"
12. "Is It Any Wonder?"
13. "Try Again"
14. "Leaving So Soon?"
15. "Crystal Ball"
16. "Bedshaped"

Alternate set list

1. "The Iron Sea"
2. "Everybody's Changing"
3. "Put It Behind You"
4. "Nothing in My Way"
5. "We Might As Well Be Strangers"
6. "Bend and Break"
7. "Can't Stop Now"
8. "Try Again"
9. "Your Eyes Open"
10. "The Frog Prince"
11. "Hamburg Song"
12. "Fly to Me"
13. "Leaving So Soon?"
14. "This Is the Last Time"
15. "A Bad Dream"
16. "Somewhere Only We Know"
17. "Is It Any Wonder?"
18. "Broken Toy"
19. "Atlantic"
20. "Crystal Ball"
21. "Bedshaped"

Tour dates

External links

• TheMusicZine Tour Review