Brit-pop band Keane [ tickets ] belied its shy reputation Monday (5/2) at Phoenix's Celebrity Theatre with an hour-long collection of confident, piano-driven songs from their debut U.S. album, interspersed with gorgeous new numbers.

Fresh from Southern California's Coachella festival, lead singer Tom Chaplin and his album-ready vocals took command of the audience, working the entire half-circle stage with his cherubic charm.

No matter how energetic Chaplin became, he was outdone by pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, who worked the piano like a springboard from which to jump; Rice-Oxley was often the centerpiece of the performance, frenetically flailing behind a pair of pianos.

Chaplin used bright yellow stage lights as a way of dedicating the song "Sunshine" to the Grand Canyon State's "mild" weather (the high was around 88 degrees). He calmly walked to and fro while Rice-Oxley bounced and jerked behind a piano. During an instrumental solo, Rice-Oxley waved a hand through the bright yellow spotlights.

"It's a great feeling to see people in Phoenix, Arizona, singing songs that we wrote in a tiny little village in England," Chaplin said before introducing two new songs, including the moving "Nothing Left to Say."

During "Everybody's Changing," from the hit album "Hopes and Fears," Chaplin encouraged the crowd to clap along with the song.

"Some of you knew the words, and some of you were trying to sing the words," Chaplin said. "Thanks for trying. It proves the music makes you feel."

Detroiter Brendan Benson opened the show with his fresh-faced, relentlessly addictive pop rock. Sadly, his energy level didn't match that of the music, possibly due to the poor sound on stage. He primarily focused on his gem of an album, 2005's "The Alternative to Love," but threw out a few surprises for fans who shouted song titles to the shy frontman. Benson, who is collaborating on an album with the White Stripes' Jack White, is definitely one to watch this year.