“Miles, Miles, Miles fucking Kane!” chants the anticipating crowd awaiting the moment the main man would come onto the stage. On the first night of his UK tour, Miles Kane would play to a sold out Barrowlands Ballroom and I think it can be said there are worse ways to start a tour.
Kane wasted no time, after starting off the gig with Loaded (from his new album Coup de Grace) he fired straight into fan favourite Inhaler. The unmistakable opening guitar riff filled the ballroom with the fierce and frantic energy which fans have come to expect from Kane. The way Kane commands the stage while abusing his whammy bar and smashing out an impeccable guitar solo really highlights the “fuck it” attitude that oozes out of him. Kane’s choice of outfit for the night embodied this. His combination of Cuban heels, silver makeup and a blue spandex leotard making him look like a bad 90’s Power Rangers villain. Of course, he managed to pull this all off in a way only Miles Kane could.
After running through some songs from his new album, Kane had a treat in store for the Glasgow crowd, covering the disco classic Hot Stuff by Donna Summer. As the show went on it was hard to decide who was in control as the crowd became more and more vocal, urging and encouraging Kane to play more hits. Kane, not one to disappoint, of course granted their wishes and went on to play Don’t Forget Who You Are. However, this clearly wasn’t enough for the crowd as they continued to sing on past the end of the song, much to Kane and his bandmates joy, and before long they fired back into the chorus of the song producing a mid-show mini-encore. Clearly knowing they could influence where the show would now go, the crowd continued singing after Kane’s main encore, the anthem that is Come Closer, again leading to another rendition of the song’s chorus.
After such a successful opening night it will be hard for any of the following gigs to beat the atmosphere and energy of the Barrowlands. You’ve gotta wonder whether the tour has peaked too soon.
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Words by Sean Macdonald (Twitter: @1998sean)
Photos by Jack Dunsmuir ( Instagram: @jackdunsmuirphotography)
