Miles Kane in Manchester – a surprising disappointment

When I booked tickets to see Miles Kane in Manchester on the 3rd February I honestly had such high hopes. I was a massive fan of his most recent album ‘One Man Band’, I had really enjoyed his cameo at the Arctic Monkeys gig and with the promise of The Royston Club supporting, it was set to be good night. However, I left the gig (early in all candour) feeling quite disappointed. The first part of my evening was very enjoyable, The Royston Club were a class opener and the feeling in the venue was honestly electric, you could tell that every person in that venue was waiting with baited breath every time the band took a brief pause, hoping that they would play another banger. And indeed they did deliver. While the front man Tom Faithfull did not engage overly with the crowd in between songs, the energy he gave during every song was unmatched, it was obvious that he and the rest of his band mates were truly in the moment that evening, making the most of the short time they had on stage and giving the crowd what they wanted: a bloody good Saturday night.

While the openers were great (it’s very rare to get a band as massive as the Royston Club in a supporting spot on a tour) I will be completely honest and say that I was left with a sour taste in my mouth during Miles’ set. As mentioned before, I adore Miles Kane and his work with Alex Turner in The Last Shadow Puppets as well as his solo stuff, however on this night in particular there was just something missing for me. For what I did see of his performance, I felt that even with his dramatic entrance in a cool jacket and black sunglasses, Kane was lacking an element of showmanship that helps me really engage with music at live gigs, which was a shame as from previous experiences seeing him perform, this wasn’t ever something I thought he would struggle with. Technically he sounded brilliant and his voice was on top form, however there was something missing, Kane’s charm came from his effortlessness, however on this night in particular it felt as if he was just trying too hard to be ‘that guy’, and honestly it felt quite disingenuous.

Has this experience put me off Miles and his music? absolutely not, I think he’s a super talented guy and I would definitely want to see him again, as I know that what I saw on that Saturday night was an anomaly for him. However, this experience has definitely taught me that, like us, artists can have off days too and not always perform to their best standards, and it is important as an audience member to recognize this possibility before going to a gig to avoid major disappointment.