Miles Kane is back and his time is now. Daniel Zambartas covers the Wirralian’s latest stunning Manchester performance.
Read about Miles Kane and you’ll see he has worked closely with some of the best in the industry – Alex Turner, the Gallagher brothers, and The Coral, to name a few.
While his popularity, perhaps unfairly, isn’t on the same scale as some of those artists, seeing him live makes you question why.
The man from Birkenhead is confidence personified. The forthright stance, the pout of the lips, the power in the voice, Kane didn’t look like he could put a foot wrong, and he didn’t.
He might be best known for his silky guitar playing, but his vocals are equally impressive. He is a strong melody writer and, although quite nasally at times, has that rough, distorted tone when he sings higher, which complements the dirty sounding guitars.
It’s not one for those who like softer music but then again, Kane shows he’s not all about grit with the slower, more elegant Colour of The Trap, which reminds me of the song Cornerstone by the Arctic Monkeys, helped by the fact it’s in the same key.
The slow-but-climatic progression of the song puts more emphasis on what are beautifully written lyrics. It provided a nice contrast to the generally heavy sounding songs on the night.
Kane makes it look effortless, whether it is a slower number or a fast-paced track, his face remains relaxed – a man in full control of what he is doing.
He felt too big and too good to be performing at a venue as small as the O2 Ritz, as great as it was to see him so close up. The crowd couldn’t have been more into it, proven by the fact they were belting the encore, Don’t Forget Who You Are, before Kane had even come back on stage to perform it.
It is arguably his strongest song, featuring great rhythm guitar playing and an incredibly catchy chorus. Come Closer is the obvious other favourite, with both songs containing Kane’s distinctive elongated vowels in his vocals.
He didn’t sing anything by the Last Shadow Puppets, which would have been great, but he also didn’t need to. Troubled Son, One Man Band, Inhaler, Rearrange, and Baggio, are all of a similar quality to what Turner and Kane produced together with the Shadow Puppets.
One of the best things about Kane’s music is that he doesn’t shy away from his having his accent heard; it’s quite clear where he’s from and it’s perfect for the style of music he performs.
Miles Kane is a pretty faultless performer, who is very popular with his fans, but deserves more of them. In terms of the perfect performance, he couldn’t come closer. His time is now.
Mersey Music 