Last night, my sister and I went to the Keane concert at the Aragon ballroom in Chicago, and I can honestly say it was the best concert I've EVER BEEN TO. EVER!

We stood outside in line for three hours, because we really, REALLY wanted to be in the front. We met an awesome girl in line behind us who we hung out with/pushed through crowds with during the concert. Once we got through the doors, we had to wait ANOTHER THREE HOURS for Keane to play. There were two opening acts, but I really wasn't interested in them (although I'll admit they were good).

Keane came out, and you could tell that every member was putting in all their effort and energy into a great show. Tom Chaplin was running around stage, singing his heart out to the audience. They were so speechless by the amount of screaming and cheering we did for them throughout the entire concert. Every song sounded AMAZING, and Tom was so interactive with the audience! Tim was playing the piano like a madman, Richard was beating the drums perfectly, and Jesse (the guitarist) was doing good too, although I wasn't paying as much attention to him as to Tom!

After the concert, we ran to the merch. table before the crowd got too large, and I bought my sister and I awesome tour books. The girl we had met knew where the tour buses were parked, so as most of the crowd dispersed to parking lots and to the el station, we headed toward the back of the theater.

There were a few other people waiting for Keane to come out and talk to us. We were unsure if they would come out at all, but we had to give it a shot! After ten minutes of suspensful waiting, Tim started walking toward the huge gate. The small crowd of people waiting condensed and also seemed to get bigger. Luckily, we were right near the front of the crowd, so after only a couple minutes, we reached him.

I got up to him and asked, "Can I have a hug?"
I was the first person to ask this, and after a second, he smiled and said, "Aww sure!" in his cute British accent. My sister got one after me, we took a quick picture with him, and then he signed our tour books.

We gushed to him about how much we loved his music, and you could tell he was really enjoying the love and support all of the fans were giving him.

Richard came out soon after that, and we had to wait in the mob again. He said, "Sorry, but I can't take pictures with anyone, because we're really rushed and I can't get pictures with all of you." But he was sincerely apologetic, and he kept asking, "Is there anything else I can do/sign?" So he signed our books, and I asked for a hug from him. He had a similar reaction to Tim (Smile and "Aww sure!"), and I told him that his drumming was great and that I wished I could have seen him better (he was in the back of the stage). He said thank you and absorbed the countless other compliments being thrown at him from other waiting fans.

Richard finally had to stop (they were in a rush), and he went on the tour bus. Many people in the crowd left, but we stayed, hoping that Tom (our favorite) would come out too. We waited for awhile, and we started losing hope. Our friend almost left, but I convinced her to wait another five minutes.

And only after one minute, the beautiful and incredibly talented Tom Chaplin came strolling out to us. Once again, he couldn't take pictures with anyone, but asked if he could sign anything. His head was mainly down, signing books and tickets, smiling, and talking to fans near the front. When he was signing stuff in front of me, I asked if I could have a hug (of course!).

He looked up, almost puzzled from the change in routine, but smiled and said "Sure!". As I hugged him, I said, "You were fantastic!". I'm not really sure how he responded, because I was enjoying the hug so much!

At some point, he signed our books, but I'm not exactly sure when. I tried to get my sister to the front of the crowd. She was being really shy, so I asked if he could give her a hug. But that was when he had to stop. He said to everyone, "Sorry, but we really got to go." He walked to the bus and waved to the crowd and many of us said, "Bye Tom!".

Before the concert, I was unsure we were even going to get the near the front, let alone meet them! I amazingly smuggled a camera into the concert (apparently they weren't allowed, but I saw everyone else taking pictures too!), and I got some AMAZING pictures from the concert. I only got a picture with Tim, but I was happy enough just to meet them! They were the most down-to-earth and nice guys ever! They were surprised by their own popularity, and throughout the concert, they kept thanking the audience for the love and support. At the very end, Tom said that the Chicago concert was, by far, the best concert on this tour, and he said, "Tonight was un-fucking-believable!"

Even right now, I'm still reeling from last night. I can honestly say this concert was the best, even better than Ringo's concert! I mean, when we saw Ringo, we were far back, in a balcony, and I had to use binoculars to see him. And he's definitely not as interactive with the crowd as Keane was.

It makes me incredibly sad that I will never be able to meet all four Beatles...well, at least in this lifetime ...but going to the Keane concert and meeting them afterwards was the next best thing!