Former Keane Front man Tom Chaplin is out on the road performing small acoustic gigs, showcasing his new solo album 'The Wave'. With only a handful of dates it's no wonder they all sold out in hours.
Chaplin is no stranger to demons, having described himself as a "raging drug addict" in a recent interview with the Telegraph, describing all his dark days and how he thought he was gonna die.
Describing his recorded debut as a songwriter, stating he didn't think he had access to the parts of himself to write good songs, well that idea has been totally blown out of the water.
'The Wave' epitomizes all the chapters of Chaplin's life during, and since his split with Keane, it's a rollercoaster of emotions with punchiness and balls to boot, with some absolute gems thrown in for good measure. Chaplin describes the album as the therapeutic process he went through, he's right there.
A sold out venue tonight, not one ticket to be had anywhere. The venue is packed to the rafters, everyone vying for a space.
A 16 song set showcasing the new album, with a couple of' Keane' covers thrown in for good measure and showing Chaplin's not afraid to show where his roots were from and with four number 1 albums to fall back on it's no wonder a couple of songs were in the set.
The Wave shows Chaplin's incredible journey over the last few years and this has been interpreted through the music, and especially the heart rendering song writing.
The set tonight was littered with hits including 'Solid Gold', which was very Keane-like, 'I Remember You' which was very catchy and was very Cure-esque. Favourites from the night which caught my ear were current single 'Quicksand' and 'The River', a song about living for today
Chaplin's angelic vocals shone through tonight and the audience was very appreciative, and in such an intimate setting too. Chaplin showed he still has it, charisma I mean and this was showcased whilst he gave us a rendition of amazing ballad 'Worthless Words' just accompanied by the Piano, it was goose pimple time and made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
This is just another stepping stone on the Chaplin journey of rehabilitation and it was epic. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Even though this tours not over, Chaplin this week announced a 14 date 2017 tour for May next year. Let's hope he gets the same response as these smaller shows, as the new album is well worth a listen live and to accompany Tom on his journey back to better and bigger things would only encourage him in on his road to recovery and give him the success I think he deserves.
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.