[27 Apr 2012] Miles Kane at Bristol O2 Academy (BS1 5NA)

Review: Miles Kane at O2 Academy, Bristol

Miles Kane (By Rich Alex Peck)

The venue is sold out and everybody seems ready for Miles Kane. The Rascal-come-Last Shadow Puppet has been touring his debut solo effort ‘Colour of the Trap’ for almost 2 years and this Bristol show marks the pinnacle of its success. Like him or not, you can’t deny that… plenty of people appear to like him.

He swaggers on with snakey hips and and a shirt last seen lacquering Delboy’s car seat. Opening with hit single, ‘Inhaler’ Kane knows how to please his audience. He leans away from the mic and commands some action and he most certainly gets it. The northern foundations of his music make for a second-rate Oasis crowd in the Bristolian venue. He runs through other album tracks like ‘Quicksand’ and ‘Telepathy’ and they all receive a similar response. The hard bit is working out exactly who Miles Kane is. He is dressed like a cross between Shane Richie and Tyler the Creator but 13 tracks in, he covers Tom Jones. He is like a hybrid of all that is almost cool making him the ultimate ‘almost cool’ artist.

There is no denying that tracks like opener ‘Inhaler‘ and the penultimate ‘Rearrange‘ are infuriatingly catchy and for many almost anthemic. And in Kane’s defence, the somewhat intolerable tones of his voice on record and combatted by his indisputable showmanship however the beckoning of the crowd and constant ‘ave it‘ persona does become slightly tiresome. There isn’t too much disappointment on the realisation that it will be a show with no Last of the Shadow Puppets material. Kane has legitimately found a fan-base on solo material, regardless of past efforts.

He plays his debut almost in its entirety before encoring with ‘Come Closer’ and all the tracks are sung along to and create a sense of energy that Kane can’t help but thrive off. Miles Kane struts off the stage having played another show as what many would call a modern rock‘n’roll star. Working out exactly who Miles Kane is proves to be somewhat of an impossible task. His fans love him, his album sells and his live show seems to complete the picture. The generic nature of his work for many is nostalgia which the public seem to adore and mock in equal measure. I can’t see Miles Kane going anywhere and after tonight’s show it doesn’t look like he plans to.