I’ve promised myself that over the next year I’m going to see more music. The first stop was Oddisee – which Carminelitta wonderfully covered here. The follow up was Mikill Pane, a dude who I’d been promising myself to see for ages, ever since I first heard him in fact, hoping that the energy and attitude (for lack of a better world) would translate to his live performances. It appears that good things do indeed come to those who wait, because he didn’t disappoint. Hopefully that applies to this review too, because I appreciate two weeks delay is quite a while but eh, technology lets you down when you need it most.

Before I talk about the gig itself, perhaps a little context is needed of the venue and artist. The Brudenell, as us ‘locals’ would call it, is one of my favourite venues and you can find it in the Hyde Park area of Leeds near the infamous 24 hr Sainsburys’. While it remains a social club complete with an array of beverages, pool tables, table football and fairly comfortable seats, it has a separate performance room which I can only describe as a large ’40s living room with a stage in the corner. It is small, but quaint and purposefully dimly lit, and so generates an intimate, energetic atmosphere that really allows gig-ees to engage with the music. The Brudenell then is held in high esteem despite being a small venue in an out-of-town location and many prominent artists play there, including the TOKiMONSTA/Teebs/Jeremiah Jae/Daedelus Brainfeeder jam I saw there last year. So essentially, you get two reviews for one here: go to the Brudunell when you get a chance. One unfortunate side note is that when the vibe is dead it really is dead, and does just feel like a living room with music.

Mikill Pane isn’t yet as established as the Brudenell, but he is going to be. He can introduce himself much better than I can, but already there is a buzz about him that has Mikill Pane (get the pronunciation down) on the end of the tongue many well-known dudes in music, and he released a free EP earlier this year which featured Example, Ed Sheeran and Paloma Faith, among others. He’s built a reputation for energy, wit and flow, which works in symbiosis with his sense of style to result in one of the freshest artists on the U.K. scene. To describe his style of music is difficult; it’s not got that traditional Hip-Hop vibe – in fact he actively tries to steer away from it – but it’s still got that head-nod feel-good factor. All this is even more impressive considering he only just became a signed artist.

The Brudenell Social Club was the final stage of the Campane Tour, Mikill Pane’s first as a headline act and following on from a successful tour with another UK act Rizzle Kicks. His production is typically very electronic, very driven, so to see a rock band come out and suit up with their instruments took me by surprise, but really I was quite pleased because I love Hip-Hop with live

instrumentation. It perhaps added to the live experience that a dude with electronic pads wouldn’t be able to capture; it added a dynamism which compliments Mikill Pane’s style although I’m interested to see how he’d do with more room on the stage.

Anyway, in showman fashion the main act introduced himself after a slight delay, typically flyly dressed, and almost immediately burst into a verse. Instantly, the crowd which awkwardly gathered around the stage burst in to life, the heavy guitar riff from Andy Warhol was infectious, before finishing after his initial verse. In that 80 seconds he did all he needed to in order to capture the crowd and command the stage for the rest of the night. The crowd was a funny one: mainly male (and yet despite that Mikill Pane still ended up with a bra thrown at him, which another fan took home. Personally I think that’s kinda creepy, although at least it was signed), but clearly quite fanatical and sporting a lot of Dope Chef and Mikill Pane branded t-shirts; I wore my Benjart.

He duly complied. When he told us to stick our middle fingers in the air, we did. When he told us to mosh, we did. When he told us to say PANE when he said MIKILL, we did (but to be fair, who wouldn’t). As is customary he went through his brightest tracks, all adapted for live performance and a 5 piece band, and they worked even better in person than on record. He went through a couple of Blackcurrant & Guiness EP records with singer Ben Clemo who skipped out from the shadows behind the stage. Now, I am generally really not a fan of hooks written by or featuring on raps, but Pane’s are an exception and the catchy refrains were heartily imitated by most inside. The highlight of the show for me though was the entire crowd shouting “F&%^” in unison. Repeatedly. That or the mosh to one of the unreleased songs he played, even on a dodgy knee and, thanks to a freak accident earlier, inability to breath. Really I was quite lucky to leave with all my teeth after smacking some dude with them.

That, I think, is the magic behind Mikill Pane’s music. It is accessible, I feel, on a superficial level, and by that I mean you can kick back, put on his tracks and indulge. That though carries a fair bit of stigma, but behind that is a real intelligence found in his rhymes, not the traditional sort you’d find in, say, a Lupe Fiasco record, but just incessantly witty, full of double entendres, funny and with immaculate delivery. A lot of his tracks are anecdotal but are expressed in a way that they are inherently enjoyable and easy to relate to. I don’t think you can doubt his talent.

At the end of the evening and in his usual manner Mikill Pane announced that ‘this is where I say thank you and leave the stage but you all know I’m gonna come back on’. So after he ‘completed’ the set he and his troupe abandoned the stage as we waited for him to come back on. And carried on waiting. And still waiting. And just as I was thinking that this was a genuinely good, but slightly irritating, practical joke Pane & co. came back on

stage (I later found out the band is known as The Remedies) and before he signed off the tour he duly completed the set with my favourite Mikill Pane track, and possibly his flagship, Return Of Mr Pane, complete with fanatical shouts of Yorkshire during the chorus. I mean seriously, only music can make a Londoner yell Yorkshire with the pride of someone born and raised in the dales, but it goes to show how much I was swept away by the whole thing.
After the gig he was nice enough to stay behind and sign things, which although I’m sure is quite tedious is really appreciated by the fans. The queue was long – really long – but people were chatting and getting their posters and tickets signed, even a boob depending on whether you’d thrown your bra earlier in the day. When my turn came round I introduced myself via my Twitter handle not expecting to be recognised, but I was genuinely quite touched that he did and shook my hand.

And that was that. A real, real cool evening, a great live experience: if you get the opportunity to catch Mikill Pane in concert then I would urge you to.

Well this review’s ended up being quite lengthy but it kinda reflects the esteem I hold Mikill Pane in. Before the show I knew he was a real talented guy and made dope music. After the show I knew he was a real nice dude too, but knows how to rock a live set. And now I’ve learnt he’s named his debut album after his English teacher. It’s all too much…