Keane serenades fans in Manila concert

MANILA, Philippines - It was an event reserved for the broken-hearted and the hopelessly romantic, as British alternative band Keane serenaded Manila last Tuesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The band, which shot to stardom in 2004 through their debut album Hopes and Fears, flew over the Philippines for the third-to-the-last stop of their Strangeland Asian Tour. Prior to Manila, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes, Jesse Quin and Tom Chaplin performed in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore. After the Philippines, the band is scheduled to finish the tour in Thailand and Lebanon.

Keane, known for their brand of melodramatic and sentimental hits, gave their Manila fans a treat with a 26-song setlist, including hits like The Lovers are Losing, Everybody's Changing, Somewhere Only We Know, This is the Last Time and Is it Any Wonder.

During the concert, the band's lead vocalist, Tom, told Filipino fans about his appreciation for  the people's positive attitude toward love, which he jokingly said was refreshing for someone like him who grew up in England.

The band started the night by setting the mood just right with You Are Young, which beckoned the audience to huddle around the stage, armed with cameras, glow sticks and most importantly, memorized lyrics. The song was followed by a few more mellow tones before the audience burst into a frenzy with Spiralling, which is, ironically, an ode to a crumbling relationship. Keane's songs are known for their sincere and touching lyrics, usually telling stories of yearning, desperation and resignation.

Breaking away from the heavyhearted vibe, Keane veered toward a more hopeful tone with Silenced by the Night, a song about a lover's resolve to rise again despite woes in the relationship. The song was followed by a series of emotional tunes, the highlight of which was Somewhere Only We Know, which transformed the crowd into a huge sing-along army, to the apparent delight of the band's members.

A couple of songs later, Tim, Richard, Jesse and Tom left the stage, but quickly came back after a successful prodding from the audience. The band performed three more songs, capping the night with Crystal Ball.

"I think we'd like to come back and do it all again," Tom said after thanking the crowd, hinting a possible repeat performance in a country which didn't find it too difficult to relate to their unique kind of music.