FROM THE KM.COM ARCHIVE
Yes, we’re starting a new feature on keanemusic.com, whereby we’ll be re-visiting some classic content from the site’s previous incarnation. Let us know in the comments below if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see. We begin with the Dublin liveblog from July 2007 – which took place just before the band played at The O2 in London for the first time – and which is widely-regarded as one of Keane’s finest shows. We begin the night before the show, just outside London…
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WED 11.56PM: Hello from the Keane tourbus which has just left London for Dublin. We appear to be in some sort of traffic jam as it’s not moving. Yes, Richard has just looked out of the window and we are indeed in some heavy roadworks. You read it here first!
Tim and Tom are both in their bunks already, getting an early night before tomorrow night’s show, and Richard is heading off to bed now too. Once we’ve finished typing this, we’ll be doing the same. We’re in the bunk above Tim’s, if you’re interested.
What else can we tell you? Well we’re in the lounge bit of the bus, which is in the back. The upholstery is an ’80s-style grey and there’s a Cafe De Los Maestros CD on the table, still sealed. Other than that, there’s just a couple of half eaten bars of chocolate. Oh, and Tim’s shoes are on the floor, with his socks in them.
We’ll write again in the morning when we’re on the ferry to Ireland. And then it’ll be full-on blogging once we hit Dublin.
Night night.
THUR 8.31AM: Good morning! We’ve just boarded the ferry to Dublin and we’re sitting in the cafe. Tim is checking messages on his phone, security chap Andy is on the phone and Richard has just gone to freshen up in the bathroom. Oh, he’s back, suitably freshened. He’s very impressed by our fancy blogging-on-the-move machine. Tom, meanwhile, is just getting up.
It was an interesting experience sleeping on the bus last night. At first it feels very odd to be in a bed that’s moving, but after a while the gentle rocking is quite soothing and we got a good night’s sleep, helped by the fact that nobody snores. "We’re not big on snoring," says Richard, who’s about to go and get some breakfast.
Tim is feeling quite nostalgic about the trip, because Keane’s guitarist used to live in Dublin and the band used to go and visit him via this very ferry. "One of our first gigs was at the Mean Fiddler in Dublin," says Richard. Was it good? "Phenomenal," says Tim. Really? "I can’tremember to be honest. I know we played a cover or Airbag by Radiohead. Actually, that was the trip where we came up with the name Keane, in a pub in Dubin."
Right, breakfast calls…
THUR 10.56AM: Hello again. We’re back on the bus for the short trip from the port to Dublin. The ferry journey went smoothly and quickly, with Tim and Richard reading the paper after their breakfasts. Tom’s up and about now too, very fresh faced after a long sleep. "The bus is the most comfortable place to sleep in the whole world," he says.
We should be at the venue soon, at which point we can post some pictures…
THUR 11.45AM: We’ve made it to the venue. Everyone’s setting up their stuff (tour manager Colin has asked me to point out how neatly he’s set up his desk, which he has).
Now, excitingly, here’s our first ever video blog, which we just made on the bus from the port to the venue…
Click for video
THUR 12:36PM: Hello again. We’re now comfortably settled into the "Tour Manager’s Office" with tour manager Colin, who’s just popped for a shower, and Beth, who’s typing quite frantically next to us on the desk. "It’s quiet today," she just said. And what is "it"? "Just it". Right. Of course.
Moving on, here are some pictures which we took on the ferry and in the venue
Rich and Tim do breakfast on the ferry. "Basic" is probably the kindest thing we can say about the food.
You can probably work this one out for yourselves…
I predict a smoothie.
Richard’s camera bag. And Richard’s foot.
Glad the video blog thing seems to have gone down so well – more of those to follow later.
Oh, and if there’s anything you particularly want us to do/find out/film etc (or you just want to say hello) then drop us a line at ontour@keanemusic.com
We’re off for a wander…
THUR 1.04PM: We just popped next door to the band’s dressing room to see what they were upto and to take some pics. Barbara from Spain emailed ontour@keanemusic.com to ask if we could film the lads making a smoothie, but it appears we were too late!
Looks a bit like a scene from a horror film, no?
Richard is on his computer, sending some emails. Tom, meanwhile, has just had a shower. His hair is still wet, so he asked us not to take a picture of him til it’s dry. We brokered a deal and agreed to a picture of him tying his shoelaces (sorry, but we were asked to white out the text on the letter…)
Elsewhere, Tim is doing an interview with Tom P, who’s filming extras for the DVD which is being made of The O2 gig. As you can see, he seems to be enjoying it.
And here’s an action shot of Beth doing some ironing…
Right. Time for lunch.
THUR 1.42PM: Mmm, that was nice. Shepherds pie with potato wedges and salad. At lunch, the conversation was about how difficult it is to act natural when you’re talking between songs in front of thousands of people. Tim was saying he couldn’t do it, Tom was saying he still struggles. Our experience of such things only extends as far as karaoke down the local pub, and you get kicked off one song. So we just nodded.
Paul’s emailed ontour@keanemusic.com to ask who tonight’s support act is. Well, Paul, it’s Findlay Brown. He’s on at 8pm, Keane are on at 9.15pm. Also, Emily has emailed to ask who "we" are and if "we’re" one person or lots. We’re just one person, but the "we" is keanemusic.com, if that makes sense.
THUR 2.11PM: The band are in a quick technical meeting before they start the soundcheck. We’ll definitely be getting some pictures of the soundcheck, plus (fingers crossed) a video. Watch this space. In the meantime, we’d better write this week’s KWN…
THUR 2.59PM: We just popped out to the soundcheck to take a few snaps. They’re not actually playing songs at this point, just working out song transitions, snare drum sounds, video bits and other things that we don’t really understand. But here are some pictures…
THUR 3.29PM: Does anyone have a question for tour manager Colin? We get the feeling he’d like it if you did. Email ontour@keanemusic.com and we’ll have a quickfire Q&A session. The band are still soundchecking without actually playing songs…
THUR 3.41PM: Lisa asks Colin what the best thing about being a tour manager is. Says Colin, "The best thing about it is that I get to align the furniture in my office the same way every day, nomatter where it is." Colin is happy because some presents have just turned up from the fans outside and he’s been given a keyring that says "The Boss" on it. There were presents for Beth, Asbo and Rob too. Oh, and the band. Thanks to Amanda, Trace and Linda for those. Keep those questions coming for Colin to ontour@keanemusic.com. Sounds like the band have started playing full songs in the soundcheck, so we’re off to have a look…
THUR 3.59PM; Vanessa from Barcelona asks what makes Colin lose his patience before a show. "It takes me a lot to lose my patience," says Colin, "but…". At this point he goes quiet, a slightly intense look upon his face.
Anyhoo… here are some pictures from outside the venue. Big up the boardie massive for being out there already.
Good that they turned out to need their umbrellas as sunshades rather than to keep them dry (it was tipping it down earlier, but it’s nice now).
THUR 4.24PM: The band are in a post-soundcheck technical meeting and Colin has suddenly become very busy, so we’re not sure we’ll be able to ask him any more questions for a bit. But thanks to everyone who sent them in. He seemed very pleased by the number of them.
Let’s get ready to merch…
THUR 5.52PM: Hello again. We’ve been busy for the last hour, interviewing Tim for a wee video blog which we’ll hopefully be posting later on. The band are in a meeting with their manager, so we’re back in the office with Colin, who’s going to answer some more of the questions that you sent in…
Does Colin get to sit back and enjoy the show once it starts or is he running around working throughout? Where does he stand / sit to watch?
Laura L, USA
Says Colin: I like to watch the first half of the show, usually from the front of house mixing desk. Then I have to come back and "settle the show" with the promoter, and then get things ready for the band once they come off stage.
What does it take to be a good tour manager?
Katrina
Says Colin: A calm head and the organisational skills of a robot. Plus the ability to survive on three hours sleep a night.
Says Beth: And it takes OCD.
Says Colin: Shut up!
THUR 7.02PM: We’ve just been to dinner. The fillet of beef diablo was nice, although the pepper sauce was *very* peppery. Anyway, here’s that video interview with Tim that we promised you…
Click for video
THUR 7.43PM: Hello again. Lots of you have been asking how Colin got into the tour managing game. Colin replies: "I got bored with managing music venues in Scotland and decided to get a taste for the road. And I haven’t looked back. Is that a naff answer?" We’ll leave that to the readers to decide Colin.
Colin has also been pondering that earlier question about what makes him impatient. The new answer is, "Richard messing with my feng shui and Tom messing with my computer". So there.
Anyway, here’s some more pictures, of the band hanging out in their dressing room and of how it’s looking in the venue (front of house, as Colin would put it).
We’ve genuinely no idea whose reflection that is.
Nice bag that.
When in Dublin…
Ooooh, ghostly legs. Twice.
THUR 8.20PM: Tom is in the dressing room, having just done an interview for RTE 2FM. Now he’s reading the setlist. The band are doing a slightly longer set than usual tonight (and at The O2) so Tom’s just making sure he’s up to speed with it. He also admits that he’s feeling a little bit nervous about tonight, which the band have realised is their first indoor headline show since America, back in May. But Tom bravely put aside his nerves to strike a pose for this picture…
And now the band are warming up for the show in the room next door to the one we’re typing in. Tom’s currently belting through a rendition of ‘Everybody’s Changing’. We’re going to have a look…
THUR 9.09PM: We’re posting this from right next to the stage, with the band about to take the stage in six minutes. It’s a little video blog we just made of Richard. It contains a challenge. First person to email ontour@keanemusic.com with the correct answer gets a) the glory and b) a namecheck.
THUR 9.20PM: They’re on! And they’re playing ‘Everybody’s Changing!’ Which is our favourite! So we’re off to watch it!
THUR 9.23PM: "Please, everyone, sing your hearts out tonight!" says Tom before ‘Put It Behind You Now’. Doesn’t seem any danger of that not happening. The place is bouncing!
And congratulations to Dawn Kohler, who wasn’t the first person to answer Richard’s challenge but was the first to get it right. We’re not actually going to say what the answer is yet, because that would spoil the fun. But Dawn knows. And so do Krystina, Mark, Marcia and a few others. But more people have got it wrong than right…
"Keane-o! Keane-o!" sing Dublin (they’re well practiced at that here, eh football fans?).
THUR 9.35PM: Here’s a couple of pics of how it’s looking out there…
They’re playing ‘Bend And Break’ now. And we’re off to watch some of the show. Fingers crossed nothing falls down like it did at Brighton…
THUR 10.20PM: Well, this is turning out to be quite a gig. The crowd are going mad, the band look very happy and Tom’s voice sounds absolutely spot on. And we’ve reluctantly dragged ourselves back to the computer to show you some pics…
Oooh, they’ve just started ‘Somewhere Only We Know’. We’re heading back to watch that (we can hear the crowd singing along from deep in the backstage area!).
THUR 10.35PM: So the band are onto their last two songs. We’ve decided not to tell you too much about the setlist tonight, so as not to spoil the surprise for any of you going to The O2 on Saturday.
Anyway, here’s a picture of people watching the gig.
We’re starting to feel quite tired now. It’s been a long day. But it’s been really nice getting your emails and knowing that folks all over the world are reading this. So thanks for that.
THUR 11.07PM The gig is over – and Tim, Richard and Tom are buzzing. More so than we’ve ever seen them after a show, in fact. Seems the amazing atmosphere translated very well to the stage. Tom was particularly impressed that the Dublin crowd sang along to every single word or every single song. It really was quite a special show.
Here’s how they looked coming off stage (we were a bit too slow with our Tim shot!)
That’s a lot of sweat!
Now everyone’s packing up and getting ready to get back on the bus for the trip home to London.
That’s it for keanemusic.com tonight. But we’ll be back on the bloggin’ during the trip back and then, of course, for Saturday’s show at The O2
Thanks again for all your emails (we had over 200 of them across the day), as well as your comments below and, of course, in the forum.
Night night. We’re off in search of a Guinness…