Seattle Theatre Group Presents KEANE At The Moore Theatre 9/10

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) & Mike Thrasher presents Keane on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 8:00pm at the Moore Theatre.

Keane are back. After over 8 million sales of Hopes And Fears (2004) and Under The Iron Sea (2006) combined, sold-out arena tours, awards spanning Ivor Novellos to BRITs, plus an undeniable collection of hits including Is It Any Wonder?, Everybody's Changing, Crystal Ball and Somewhere Only We Know, one of Britain's best-loved bands are about to surprise and thrill all over again.

Avowed believers in never retreading old ground, Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley and Richard Hughes return with Perfect Symmetry, a Technicolor explosion of stellar pop songs and pure, unashamed energy; the joy in which is audible in every finger-click and life-affirming chorus. As different as piano-helmed classic debut Hopes And Fears was from its darker cousin Under The Iron Sea, Perfect Symmetry finds Keane at the height of their powers. Confirming Rice-Oxley's position as one of the finest British songwriters to emerge this decade, the 11-song set sees Keane throwing any last vestiges of caution to the wind and simply letting the music take them where it will. The result is a thrillingly bold album that's as pleasurable to listen to as it was to make.

While millions of paid-up Keane fans will immediately recognise Perfect Symmetry as a body of work that could have come from no other group, others are likely to be knocked sideways by their various leaps into uncharted territory. Indeed, after hearing download-record-breaking first taste Spiralling, it's possible you might not have even recognised it the work of "the Somewhere Only We Know band". Certainly, Perfect Symmetry is the first Keane album to feature musical saw, saxophone, vocals recorded through a drum; studio sessions in Berlin, Paris and London; their first self produced album, with input from esteemed producers Jon Brion (Rufus Wainwright; Kanye West) and Stuart Price (Madonna; Les Rhythmes Digitales) and the sound of three men yelping a delighted 'Oooh!' as virtually the first thing you hear.

"We've always said we want to challenge ourselves," says Hughes. "Most bands, when they release an album, always say they've pushed themselves. But we're all music lovers and we sit there and read these things and think 'Great, can't wait to hear it!' and then you put it on and you think 'Oh. Hang on a minute...'"

"There's nothing that our record company would have loved more than for us to have delivered Hopes And Fears three times," he continues. "But we've already done one, and one's enough."

"I think by a million miles it's the best thing we've put together," says Chaplin. "I can't wait for people to hear it."

Tickets: $35.00 not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Friday, May 29 at 10am at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box offices, 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-STG-4TIX, or online at STGPresents.org.

Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.