The crowd took Chaplin's directive to "sing our songs as loudly as possible" to heart early and often, lending assistance straight away to the irresistible chug of "Everybody's Changing " and throughout the night to other radio hits like "Somewhere Only We Know " and deeper album cuts.
Not that Chaplin needed the help. His spot-on pitch and impressive sense of control never faltered. The clarion high notes of an early "We Might As Well Be Strangers " were equally matched 80 minutes later on an encore version of the yearning "Crystal Ball ."
And even if his voice hadn't been up to snuff , it's possible that the show could've coasted solely on Chaplin's boyish excitability as he tirelessly jogged to each end of the stage with a "by Jove , I think I've got it!" finger pointed to the sky.
The singer's cohorts shared the exuberance as Hughes pounded out crisp, nuanced backbeats and Rice-Oxley bobbed and weaved on his stool while providing just about every other sound made onstage , from atmospheric keyboard washes to strong backing vocals to revved-up, synth-based guitar and bass effects that gave muscular heft to the sonic landscape. (Although playing "where is that sound coming from?" was occasionally distracting.)
The stage was ringed by a series of screens that toggled among images of the band, a variety of color schemes, photos , and video clips. The most effective use of these was during the despairing "A Bad Dream ." Inspired by Yeats' s poem "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death " -- recited before the song -- the ballad was accompanied by murky visuals of war, airplanes, and explosions.
While Chaplin briefly spoke about the band's own near-destruction , it was clear Friday night that Keane is firmly back on track.
Judging by the line to get their debut disc signed after their set, openers Rocco Deluca and the Burden converted more than a few in the crowd into fans of their jammy electric rock and blues.
Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com. For more on music go to boston.com/ae/music/ blog.
