Review of Miles Kane at the Ironworks, Inverness on the 23rd of April, 2012 by Frank Finlayson. Photos by Chris Milne.
I turned up early doors, well 7.30 in comparison with the actual opening at 7.00 to what was at that point a very small crowd. However, by the time Eugene McGuiness, former band member of Miles Kane, had taken to the stage the numbers were beginning to swell. Talking of things that had begun to swell, I was very pleased to see an old face who had taken the opportunity to make it down to the gig when he could have been watching himself on Embarrassing Bodies. Apparently all was not what it seemed as he claims, at best, he would have been seen with the rest of the throng at Wickerman where they had been filming. Mind you, I did think that it was a bit odd to take a magnifying glass to the toilets with him…
Anyway back to the gig, and to Eugene McGuiness, who strode on as the epitome of cool with hair slicked back, ubiquitous leather jacket and a rather dapper silk scarf. Although distorting a bit in bass early on, Eugene produced a driven set, and that wasn’t just Japanese Cars, but the two that rounded off his turn, Thunderbolt and new single Shotgun were of worthy mention. This set was a real pace setter for what was to come.
I’ll put my cards on the table now. I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight. Miles Kane, ex of The Rascals and erstwhile partner of Alex Turner in The Last Shadow Puppets, was becoming a bit of a darling of the NME. So would it be style over substance?
After a little bit of a false start, Miles Kane strode onto stage with a real swagger. Sure, the style was evident, his deep red suit with zip detail giving it that, but through the opening two numbers, ‘Rearrange’ and ‘Counting Down The Days’, it was already becoming clear that this was stacked full of substance. Miles is no puppet, very much his own man. More than just a lead vocalist, his contortions with his guitar were more attuned to Spandex as he arched back wrestling out the notes from his guitar. By the time that he had reached the new single, and a sight of what lies ahead with ‘First Of My Kind’, there were no doubters left in room. The Monday night crowd, and by now there was a crowd, were really warming to the task, responding to Miles’ relentless pace.
Songs such as ‘Telepathy’ and ‘Happenstance’ came and went, but Miles stayed ahead, bouncing like a boxer between rounds as he readied himself for the bands continued aural assault. Spraying sweat from his hair like a dog coming out after a swim, Miles pursued his set with passion, giving acknowledgement to the crowd on more than one occasion. As the night progressed, there was more and more activity on the floor. Pockets of dancing were appearing left, right and centre, and with a final push towards the end of the set, ‘Kingcrawler’ with its tribal intro and ‘Inhaler’ found the front rows joined as one. In keeping with his fast turnaround the encore that ensued brought out all that was left in a sweat soaked Miles as he triumphantly joined in unison with the crowd for ‘Come Closer’.
Usually it takes two Kanes to create a hue and cry, but tonight it only took one and he sat on top of the world. As Monday nights go, you don’t get many to set you up for the rest of the week than one like that.
Plenty more photos of the evening here.
