Miles Kane, O2 Institute, Digbeth

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Miles Kane- Tuesday 27^th November- O2 Institute Birmingham

Walking into the O2 Institute last Tuesday felt like stepping into a groovy 70s disco, with silver streamers hanging from the backdrop of the stage, a disco ball suspended in the middle and, to top it all off, a neon sign bearing the title of Miles Kane’s new album, Coup De Grace. When the great man himself appeared, dressed in Prince-esque fashion with a leopard-print top, flared trousers and heeled boots, this only added to the generally stylish atmosphere. Amazingly, the night of music to follow proved to be even more impressive than the glamorous décor.

Kane opened with ‘Too Little Too Late’, riling up the audience with that iconic opening riff, and exposing his distinct vocals within guitar breaks. An expert accompanying band were able to effortlessly speed up and slow down the tempo at various points throughout the set-list, including a particularly effective slow ending to ‘Wrong Side Of Life’, with a haunting guitar solo. Perhaps the most creditable element of Kane’s performance was his ability to vary the texture and speed of his music, allowing for dramatic bass-heavy moments, juxtaposed with nostalgic slow sections. (This also set him apart from the support act Cabbage, who were just a bit of a racket, unfortunately.)

Far from being “just for show”, the stage decorations really added to the performance, with the disco ball reflecting sharp streams of light during ‘Loaded’, and the infamous neon sign flashing on-and-off in various different colours, co-ordinating with the mood of the music. In-keeping with this theme, Kane was a true performer, majestically bowing after a few of his numbers, yet maintaining friendly dialogue with the audience which shattered any sense of arrogance. An advantage of holding a more intimate gig was that Kane was able to really interact with the crowd, encouraging them to echo his phrasing and even praising a particularly enthusiastic fan dancing from the balcony. Still, I felt incredibly spoilt to be witnessing such talent, worthy of filling an entire arena, from just a few feet away.

Another highlight was a cover of Donna Summer’s ‘Hot Stuff’, which managed to escape its cheesy roots through a version that was jazzy and soulful. This was followed by the eponymous track ‘Coup De Grace’, which saw the crowd achieve perhaps their biggest mosh pit of the night, yet Kane didn’t let the high energy of the song cause his vocals to suffer. An extended version of ‘Don’t Forget Who You Are’, with a slowed-down acapella section towards the end, brought the gig up to the encore. The audience were then treated to two of Kane’s biggest hits, ‘Shavambacu’ and ‘Come Closer’, which formed an encore that was entertaining, but perhaps a bit disappointingly short.

Overall, this gig stood out to me as a real performance, with the music, lighting and Kane’s stage presence slotting together to form a complete concoction. I have seen few artists engage as much with the crowd as Kane does, appearing to genuinely enjoy his work (contrasting those “moody rock stars” who can’t compromise their ego with a smile to the crowd.) Aside from this, Coup De Grace is a really great album, with the right blend of Indie anthems and stripped-back numbers. Despite me already having known the album well, I’m sure that I could have witnessed the concert having never listened to Kane’s music before and still ended the night as a newly avid fan, which must be a credit to the skill of his performance.