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Written by Brian Kenney Thursday, 31 August 2006 05:48

The British pop act felt obliged to impress as they pushed through most of their 2006 sophomore release Under the Iron Sea.

The annual Radio & Records Triple A Radio Summit consistently brings heavy-hitting talent to Boulder. With past years including Ryan Adams, Coldplay, and Pete Yorn, to name a few (and although the very recent years have slightly thinned on talent), the middle day of this three-day radio format junket was charged with airplay-worthy stock in the form of Keane, Donovan Frankenreiter, and Feist.

"I just saw you months ago," the industry-savvy Feist primed the crowd before opening with "When I Was a Young Girl" from 2004's Juno award-winning Let It Die. Feist, a demure Chrissie Hynde look-alike, opened the show with a rallying cry: "Any radio people out there?" She later introduced single "Secret Heart" with the testimony: "I think the only reason people came to any of our shows is because of this song...so I'm thanking you for playing it." Debuting two new songs from an as-of-yet untitled fall/winter release (a melodic swinging lullaby known only on the set list as "1,2,3,4" and "I'm Sorry"), her voice ranged from bombastic to soft and reticent as she picked and popped her Gibson E335. Her versatile five-piece, percussion-heavy, multi-instrumental band shined through the lounge-act friendly "Mushaboom" and the full-tilt boogie of "Snow Lion."

Frankenreiter hit the stage donned in retro bell bottoms with a 12-song set of stoner/surfer rock so rife with '70s flashbacks that the Barney Miller theme song was not beyond expectation. His danceable Al Green–inspired set was more 70's than'70s—putting the Jimmy Buffett back into summer music. Laid-back surfer attitude permeated songs from his June release Move by Yourself. Frankenreiter genuinely rocks harder than fellow surf rocker Jack Johnson-as the comparison is often made-taking the mic by the horns with his openers "On My Mind," "The Way It Is," and "Free" (co-written by Johnson). He trades out vintage guitars like a prop comic, exchanging Strats for Les Pauls for Telecasters (which he plays slide on in "Let it Go") before slowing down for "Butterfly," and finally closing with the infectious choruses of "Move by Yourself" and "It Don't Matter."

Feist's subtlety and Frankenreiter's relaxation were abandoned in favor of Keane's over-the-top, arena-sized show. In an attempt to endear themselves to American radio formatters, Keane pulled out all the stops (a 17-song set) with a bombardment of lights and effects-all of which served to alienate industry personnel while easily coaxing overgrown adolescent screams from the front row. With the publicity machine that will be behind Keane this year, impressing formatters (who will no doubt be forced to play this night's respective encores "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Atlantic") wasn't necessary, yet the British pop act felt obliged to impress as they pushed through most of their 2006 sophomore release Under the Iron Sea. The dueling pianos of Tom Chaplin and Tim Rice-Oxley (bathed in oh, so dramatic blue spotlights) piqued some interest, as did Rice-Oxley's handling of piano-led effects (substituting for guitars) on tunes such as "Crystal Ball" and the kinesthetic "Bend and Break." In fact, the sound was even crisper than expected (Kudos to Fox Theatre's crew for making the band sound like they were performing in an arena), provided that Chaplin avoided murking up the sound with unscripted feedback—an ongoing problem during the slower numbers, such as set closer "Bedshaped."