Live Review: Miles Kane

Another night of boozy battle beckoned. Lager at the ready, the familiar army of Pretty Green-clad warriors assembled for a night of sweaty singalongs. Miles Kane was performing at the sold-out Engine Shed in Lincoln, and as keen gig-goers compared Weller haircuts in the nearby bars, I prepared for a typical indie rock show. Now there’s nothing wrong with that – but as the evening unfolded, I realised Kane was a professional performer with something more to offer.

A steady set by support band Telegram warmed up the 1,500 capacity crowd from the dreary Lincoln drizzle, as anticipation for the headline act rose over a flow of drinks. But at £4 a pint, the Carlsberg (Denmark’s finest) must have left us momentarily speechless with gassy delight, for when Kane took to the stage and smacked us in the face with an explosive performance of ‘Inhaler’, we looked hopeless. The crowd scrambled to resemble some sort of rowdy chaos, but it was too late. We had been utterly shown up by Kane, who set the tone for the night onto overdrive with the hit from his first album ‘Colour of the Trap’.

Luckily, the audience found better shape for the bombardment of brass unleashed in ‘First of My Kind’, a slightly ridiculous Bond-esque tune as loud as Kane’s wardrobe (tonight’s shirt choice: a fairly modest striped number). With the help of a tight band to tee him up for his three-second whammy bar blasts, Miles raced ahead through a selection of pretty bland songs about girls and being “better than that”. Although you won’t find the secrets of the universe in these tracks, the former Rascals frontman’s unflinching belief in his work gives them a gritty edge, which resonates well with fans.

The show’s first real moment of connection came during Kane’s rendition of Arctic Monkeys B-side ‘Little Illusion Machine’, which was co-written by Miles and his friend, Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. Kane owes a lot to Turner, who gave him his first taste of mainstream success through their 2008 Last of the Shadow Puppets joint project, and the inclusion of this track was a nice nod to that partnership. The Wirral Riddler himself commanded the song brilliantly, and what had always seemed to be a bit of a throwaway in-joke of a B-side became a fun live song full of oomph.

The song’s driving surge could make even the most suspect of dad-dancing look rock and roll

The Merseyside rocker and his band went from strength to strength following this success, channeling the energy into a thumping rendition of ‘Give Up’, a frenzy of jagged lyrics and riffs from Kane’s second album Don’t Forget Who You Are. Kane seized the moment and pulled out all his favourite poses, safe in the knowledge that the song’s driving surge could make even the most suspect of dad-dancing look rock and roll.

Kane’s commitment to delivering a lively show was clear throughout, but when the lights dimmed and the ‘woo-woo’s of ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ swirled around the darkened Shed, you could see he was as giddy as anyone on the floor. ‘Come Closer’ provided another generous helping of audience interaction, with a hearty crowd call and response sending fans into delirium, and closing the main set on a so-simple yet so-effective high.

A strong encore began with a beautiful performance of ‘Colour of the Trap’, which could have risked sounding dull during the pulse-raising main set, but benefited from the freedom to drift at its own speed after a break. Kane’s vocals really impressed here, easing off from machine gun delivery to a croon, and setting sail over a mass of wide-eyed admirers. The big finale was triumphantly delivered by the upbeat ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’, the title track from Kane’s second album, concluding the show with sentiments of self-assurance that pretty much summed up the Scouse mod’s whole act. Chanted ‘lalala’s were on loop as the buoyant crowd poured out towards the town, full of praise for the energetic gig.

For all its musical shortcomings, sometimes you just can’t beat a good night of ‘havin’ it’- and I doubt there’s better hosts around at the minute than Miles Kane.