MILES KANE // SWG3, GLASGOW
MILES KANE RETURNS TO SCOTLAND FOR FIRST SHOW IN TWO YEARS WITH SOLD-OUT INTIMATE SHOW AT SWG3
★★★★★ (5/5)
MILES KANE PERFORMING AT GLASGOW’S SWG3
PHOTOCREDIT: FRANK MURPHY
It’s been a while since I’d been to SWG3 so when the opportunity came up to go there to see Miles Kane I jumped at it. It’s a great venue, especially for the kind of music Miles makes.
The support act, The Royston Club, were new to me so I made sure I got there in time to see them. I thought they were a good support act, good songs, great musicians but they did lack a little bit of stage presence, something they can work on. They are playing Kendal Calling this year so I will make a point of going to see them as I have a feeling they are going to get better and better as they hone their craft, their debut album is out now, give it a listen, I thought they were good and worth paying attention to.
Thursday night was all about the main man though, Miles Kane is touring his brand new album, One Man Band, recently released and chock full of some of Miles best work, the man himself has said it’s the album he really wanted the world to hear.
He sauntered out on to stage earlier than I would have expected at about 8.30 with a huge amount of stage presence, if anything he reminded me of Liam sauntering out with supreme confidence at Irvine Beach Park back at the heights of Oasis. It wasn’t an arrogant entrance, just the entrance of someone who knows he’s great live and has the material to back it up.
He launched into Troubled Son and instantly I knew this was going to be a great gig, the crowd were well up for it, singing along at every opportunity, jumping about and, for some songs, a mosh pit got going down the front. Miles’s vocals sounded brilliant, his band were tight and after bludgeoning all potential resistance out of the audience with a barrage of quality songs, Better Than That, The Best Is Yet To Come and Give Up he gave us the title song of his brilliant new album.
By this point the crowd were going mental, the singing and dancing at full pelt, Miles started engaging with us all and wanted to make sure we were up for it which he quickly realised the crowd were, I think he was genuinely impressed by some of the signing he was hearing back.
What I loved most about this gig was that Miles was clearly enjoying himself, it was a cold night in Glasgow that night but Miles turned up the temperature in the room to the point no-one was aware. When the crowd is as in to the gig as they were for this gig Galvanisers is a brilliant venue, it becomes a hot, sweaty cauldron of music that feels perfect for what was a brilliant rock and roll gig, this was indie music at its most alive, most flamboyant, most engaging.
Miles played 18 songs, the closer, and sole encore song, was Don’t Forget Who You Are which became a massive singalong. All in all I think this was one of the best gigs I’ve been to in a long time. Miles is still touring, if you get the chance go and see him!