Gig review: Keo at The Level

The first of Keo's Nottingham shows, a short acoustic set, said so much in such little time.

Starting out with Loser, they absolutely blew me away with just how much their songs suit the stripped-back format. It really let every song breathe. In particular, it allowed Finn Keough’s soaring vocals to stun the room- they are so powerful and so full of heart that it brings a tear to the eye. Watching the set, I was heavily reminded (surprisingly) of Nirvana’s iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged performance, with soul and heart in every note and word. The crowd really lifted up the show, too, as they sang every single word of every song, from the Americana tinged Bird on The Wire to the devastating tracks Spent on You and Black Dress. The tone on Jimmy Lanwern’s guitar was both subtle and stunning, bringing some of the distortion from their normal electric sound without seeming to overpower the songs in any way, especially on That’s Me. In the more emotional moments, you could see the ache on the band’s face - it was clear that even the band was struggling to keep it together.

Finally, the finishing on the unreleased track Only We Know was a masterful decision, proving just how loved these guys are. And the fact that the entire crowd knew a song that is not even out yet is just proof they are meant to be rockstars.

The acoustic show really showed, for me, the quality of the album. There are clear influences from the 90s grunge scene in their music, but for such a rehashed genre it sounds completely and utterly fresh. The way the fans responded to every track just goes to show that these songs are modern classics, and they will be a benchmark of the shape of rock to come. There is an excitement and a rawness to this music, and even in the softer numbers there is a sense of catharsis about to break.

The first tell that the evening show was going to be something special was the fact that people were, quite literally, running down from the bag check to get through the doors, and running to and from wherever they were in order to get into the crowd - including dashing from the toilets just to secure their place. The chattering ambience and the chants of "KEO" drowned out any thoughts of worry a person may have, and, soon enough, Keo came themselves to prove any doubters of their merits wrong - dead wrong.

You know how, back in 1994, Oasis would walk onto stage and perform as if they had some sort of psychic vision of just how important they were going to be? Well, it seems Keo have been to a fortune teller because every second they are on stage you can just feel the red-hot swagger radiating from them.

It is hard, actually, to specifically point out single tracks of note from this show, as I was utterly and completely captivated by the way in which they controlled every person in the room. Jimmy Lanwern was flailing his guitar around like it was burning his skin to touch, Conor and Oli were holding down the fort with their technical prowess, and Finn was busy cementing himself as the greatest frontman on his generation. I’ve been to shows where the massive hits are screamed louder than you can hear while some of the smaller, album tracks have a more hushed response from the crowd. But, here, every single line of every single song was screamed so loud that it was sometimes a bit hard to hear Finn. Even songs that were released only a week before this show were sung as if they had been in the top 10 for a century.

Observing from above, the crowd seemed less like a group of people, but rather a shifting mass of passion. The mosh pits looked like the middle of an active war zone. I have never seen a level of pure, manic fanaticism in my lifetime, and this sort of love and outpouring of passion happens as often as Halley’s Comet... I have genuinely been in quieter stadiums compared to this show.

Two songs worth a particular focus were That’s Me and Thorn, purely for how Finn, Conor, Oli and Jimmy performed with such passion and heart. It was electrifying and I am certain I will never forget seeing it with my own two eyes.

Keo know exactly who they are, and how cool they are, and so when they walked off stage to the sound of a feedback orchestra, my heart felt physically light.

Then, when the final song, the hit I Lied, Amber, began and Finn told the crowd to put away their phones and be in the moment, I swear I felt every single person’s energy surge through me. That sort of connection through music, through one track, is so rare I have never experienced it before. At that moment, I forgot about everything outside of the show; current events felt like memories long past or events too far in the future to concern myself about. It was just me, the warmth of the people, and the band.

And then, it was over. Wandering through the crowd to Bowie’s Heroes, I felt infinite. The world felt so small compared to the emotions in my heart and the thoughts in my head. The only conclusion I can draw from my feelings walking through all those people is that I had witnessed something truly important. I remember my father spoke to me about a Courteeners show he was at about two decades ago in that same room, and I know that in 20 or 30 years, I will be speaking to my children about this show.

Keo are something completely incomprehensible: a group that is certainly destined for the uppermost echelons of music history. Their energy, heart, performance, and songs are the sort of thing that will live on forever. I cannot compare them to any band that has existed on Earth as they are a completely different beast. Keo is to live music as The Odyssey or The Godfather are to literature and film. They are just as good as people say they are, and to decline the chance to see them would be a sin against yourself.

@keoband_

Keo performed (twice) at The Level on 2 October 2026