ACCORDING to Brit pop trio Keane’s bio, Tom Chaplin is on vocals, Tim Rice-Oxley is on piano, Richard Hughes is on drums, and guitars are “N/A.”
The band had a guitarist in an earlier incarnation, but once he left, they focused on piano-driven rock. Onstage, however, it feels like more than a trio, because they bring a laptop to help fill in the gaps -and the bass-lines.
On top of the U.K. charts, “Hopes and Fears,” is a bit Radiohead with Thom Yorke-ish vocals, a bit Coldplay with the pianos, but Keane adds its own emotional elements to the tunes.
The group performs at the Knitting Factory (74 Leonard St.; [212] 219-3006) Thursday.
Indie pop-rock band Matt Pond PA is like a sadder Shins -which is a good thing. The Philly quintet, which opens for Keane, offers tunes from their lovely, melancholy new album, “Emblem,” which is dotted with accordions, cellos and steel pedal guitar.
FRIDAY PLUS: Henry Butler brings his jumping boogie-woogie rhythm and blues to Manhattan.
First stop is tonight at Lincoln Center’s “Midsummer’s Night Swing” series ([212] 721-6500; http://www.lincolncenter.org) where the vocalist and pianist performs with the Deacon John Big Band.
Tomorrow, Butler burns up the keys with New Orleans-drenched tunes from his latest, “Homeland,” at Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette St.; [212] 539-8770).
For more New Orleans flavor, trumpeter/vocalist Kermit Ruffins and his Barbecue Swingers, appear at Tribeca Rock Club (16 Warren St.; [212] 766-1070).
A co-founder of the ReBirth Brass Band in 1982, Ruffins makes sweaty NOLA jazz, perfect for muggy nights.
SATURDAY: The Wildhearts could have taught Rock 101 to the Darkness, but instead, the 15-year-old Brit rock band has been opening for them.
Powered by ’70s glam and rock, this ferocious act will perform at Tribeca Rock Club.
MONDAY: David Bazan, the singer/songwriter/guitarist behind Pedro the Lion, didn’t time the release of “Achilles Heel” to the release of “Troy.”
The stripped-down effort touched up with some synths makes the dark tales that much darker. The group performs at the Knitting Factory with John Vanderslice.
MONDAY PLUS: On “Honky Tonkers Don’t Cry,” a track of his latest, “Dreamland,” Austin’s country crooner Dale Watson sings, “Cryin’ in your beer is commonplace around here, but when the sun goes down, nobody’s wearing a frown.”
It’s hard to not smile (or two-step) when he’s behind the mike. He performs at the Rodeo Bar (375 Third Ave.; [212] 683-6500) on Monday and Tuesday.
THURSDAY PLUS: On “Our Endless Numbered Days,” Miami’s Sam Beam creates gorgeous rootsy acoustic music under the name of Iron and Wine.
The hush-voiced singer, with easy comparisons to Nick Drake, brings a band to Maxwell’s (1039 Washington St., Hoboken, N.J.; [201] 798-0406) on Thursday and Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St.; [212] 533-2111) next Friday and Saturday.