Live: Miles Kane

Manchester Academy 1

27th September

6/10

Miles Kane is a pretty frequent sight in Manchester, something he was glad to mention at his gig on Saturday. He loves to jam with us and it’s clear we love to too. Sporting a snazzy new haircut, he left much of his Paul Weller-esque crowd disappointed; although it’s become relatively uncommon to see many Noel Gallagher types walking around Piccadilly these days, you wouldn’t  have known it from the crowd on Saturday night who were clearly paying tribute to his usual mod stylings.

Having appeared at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Hyde Park it was no surprise that Saturday’s gig was packed out. He donned the stage with an air of confidence held by those few who know they rock, and right from the word go Miles had everyone on their toes with songs from his first solo album Colour of the Trap performing such songs as ‘Inhaler’ and ‘Come Closer’ along with ‘Give Up’ from his new album released in February of this year. He is a brilliant showman, one whose enthusiasm was reflected vibrantly by the crowd.

Although I had a blast, I still feel for the experience that Miles has he could do more to move off the middle road and try something a bit more daring and new, speaking specifically towards ‘King Crawler’ which although allows for some groovy riffs leaves much to be desired in terms of lyrics.

Miles Kane definitely isn’t for everyone. He performs a mixture of indie/psychedelic rock and mod revival but if you ever liked Arctic Monkeys then Miles Kane might be for you. Many of the songs from his first album are co-written by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner and it is pretty clear they are. It is definitely recommended if you plan to attend a Miles Kane gig to revise your knowledge of his lyrics, because if Saturday was any testament to the crowds he pulls, you will enjoy yourself far more being able to join in on the many sing-alongs occurring during the course of his gig.