Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating:  * * * *

Although not the headline act, it was to be Miles Kane who really stole the show at the Liverpool leg of the N.M.E. Awards Tour.

Playing to a hometown audience, the Merseyside Mod came out with all the swagger and determination expected. Opener Give Up packs the punch of crowd favourite Inhaler and with Kingcrawler and First of my Kind following, Kane had set his stall out early.

Much of the set comprised of newer material, however the infectious Rearrange and Counting Down the Days, both from Colour of The Trap, still draw mass sing-alongs.

Tonight and Take it On hint at an edgy, rawer feel than demonstrated on his debut solo record.  The punchy chorus of Don’t Forget Who You Are, on the other hand, sees him back to his catchy best. Yet it was to be the ever charismatic set closer Come Closer which truly affirmed this as the best set of the night.

The evening had gotten off to a wobbly start; a ticketing error meant that first band, Peace, had begun their set to a scarce audience. Those who had managed to get in were treated to a highly polished performance. In the stunning California Daze and Bloodshake, Peace has two songs that are sure to capture the imaginations of summer festival goers.

Second was the raucous Palma Violets. With single Best of Friends and flip side Last of the Summer Wine they have two extremely strong guitar-pop songs. Yet the remainder of the set lacks any real stand out tracks. However their potential is obvious and you can only hope the current hype lasts long enough to see it reached.

Django Django completed the line up. Their brand of 80s influenced, synth-driven psychedelia is very good, yet it seemed somewhat lost following the cochlea bashing offered by Kane a few minutes earlier.  It took a while for the crowd to get into their set and when single Default was finally unleashed it did see the noticeably dwindling crowd begin to finally let loose.

This was to be Kane’s night. It seemed bizarre for him not to headline in what is his home city, something which would have aided Django Django. However, this didn’t seem to affect him in the slightest and on current form the future is bright for Merseyside’s own ace face.

William McIntosh