MILES KANE
with Findlay, The Wholls.

Bedford Corn Exchange, Tuesday 11th June 2013.

The Pad presents continue in their quest to raise Bedford's musical profile. Tonight they bring us MILES KANE. It has been fairly difficult to avoid this man in the music press recently. He has a new album out, "Don't Forget Who You Are" and is closely quizzed as to his fashion tips. I have a vague recollection of seeing him at Reading festival the other year, but I come here mainly out of curiosity. Well it's only down the road!
Looking around at the crowd, it would appear that I'm not alone in that respect. There is a pretty broad spectrum of people here. Of course the indie kids and the mods are out in force, as well as some very excited young ladies, but also a large number of people loitering near the back looking slightly bemused. We just want to see what all the fuss is about.
Miles Kane is probably (possibly unkindly) best known for hanging around with Alex Turner. He paired up with him for the rather fabulous Last Shadow Puppets. This association brought him to the attention of a much larger audience. He was in The Rascals before that, but I think it would be fair to say that a lot of people hadn't heard of him. Now he is on his own to show everyone what he can do.
The lights are dimmed. The crowd are slightly restless as he is on a bit later than stated. A large number of people are singing along to Oasis like their lives depended on it. I hope this isn't a bad omen. As if anyone is in any doubt as to who they have come to see, Miles Kane is lit up across the back of the stage. The stage itself seems to have an odd layout with the drummer at the side of the stage, usually a position for the support bands. This ensures that when you are looking straight at the stage, you can only see Miles Kane. Got that? Name in light lest we forget. Predictably, people go mad. He forgoes the suit for a shiny leather jacket and T shirt tonight. The jacket soon comes off though as it is quite hot in here. Now the music. Well there's no denying that the man can sing. Not so sure about the lyrics though. What he is, is a good showman, although possibly coming over a bit too cocky at times. I find it odd that the band aren't acknowledged at all and I would be interested to find out who actually writes all the material. It is very much the Miles Kane show - me me me. I find myself slightly disappointed and wondering whether he was carried by Mr Turner. However, a lot of people are enjoying themselves and when he plays "Come Closer" it is pretty hard to hear him over the massed singalong. I do find myself laughing at the end as everyone shouts "Miles Miles". I know it's his name but it's a bit 'lost child in Waitrose'! He does come back on, much to the excitemant of many.
So, the verdict. Not as good as I thought it'd be. It was quite clear to see that he is filling a gap in the lad market. Oasis have split up, Kasabian have moved on to larger venues. This is the next option. At points it was a bit like watching a football match with all that male bonding in the room.

Main support came from FINDLAY. These were a female fronted four piece that I know nothing about! They played slightly retro indie rock with punky vocals and dirty guitar. A bigger boy said that they sounded like a cross between Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Joy Formidable. The singer has a spotted dress, a woolly hat and two microphones. Also there are two guitarists and no bass. I didn't time it, but it seemed like a very short set, maybe 20 mins. They seemed to go down quite well and I heard several people praising the band later on.

First on were THE WHOLLS. This was also a blink and you'll miss it set. They played a very fast stripped down set with Zedo as the only guest. I have only seen them at Esquires before and can only assume that a lot of their fans weren't here tonight. I suspect that a lot of people hadn't heard of the band before. We get "B-man" as the last song and are left with the parting words to "get involved". On the whole I would describe the night as being like a pie. One of those ones that looks really nice, but under the crust there are only a few bits of chicken and loads of soggy peas.