The Verse’s Alex Berdugo reviews Russell Kane’s Right Man, Wrong Age solo tour at the Brighton Dome.
As the audience took their seats in the concert hall , excitement began to build in the Brighton Dome. Uplifting club music was playing out of the PA and the atmosphere was relaxed, with drinks aplenty and a clear sense of support for the night’s entertainment. Russell Kane, who was making a grand return in his Right Man, Wrong Age solo tour, was soon to come on stage in his new suited and booted attire and with his trademark undying charisma.
The first surprise of the evening was how Kane did not have a support act before his main set. Instead, he filled in the support’s slot with an extra impromptu set of his own – and much to the crowd’s delight. After a light-hearted announcement that poked fun at Brighton’s reputation of being vegan (this was greeted warmly and gave the impression that Kane had taken the time to make the jokes personal), he took to the stage to an eruption of applause.
Kane seemed to contain more energy than the Sun, virtually bouncing around the stage and waving his arms to emphasise points. It was impressive to watch him improvise about half an hour of stand-up comedy, as well as his ability to immediately read the situations that he was in and turn it into a reason to laugh. He interacted impeccably with the audience, remembering every last person’s name and making us feel very included in the show. Russell Kane was back, and he was in his element.
The was then an interval before Kane’s main performance, in which the Dome’s bar was flooded with people and more drinks were poured. I thought the prices were reasonable for a live performance venue and the service was quick.
The next set was indeed rehearsed rather than improvised, yet it still felt natural. All of Kane’s jokes struck a chord, leaving many hopelessly bent over in their seats from laughter. The comedic formula was very anecdotal, with the audience been given hilariously dramatized versions of stories from Kane’s personal life. Whenever a more relatable topic came up, he would interact with the crowd and make those who responded feel like the second star of the show. It was once again demonstrated how capable Kane was at remembering everybody’s name, almost as if he knew them individually outside of the performance.
It struck me how open Kane was about his stories, leaving out no details that would help his audience picture the scene. I felt like I was present in the room with his through a series of key life events, from being caught spray tanning by his Dad or being sick after watching his baby daughter’s umbilical cord being cut.
When the show ended, it felt like a good book had come to a close. Russell Kane had met and exceeded expectations, coming back strong after two years since his last solo tour. I would thoroughly recommend getting tickets to performances of his in the future.
