Wigan

MK kicked off 2002 with an intimate and unpublicised gig to get himself ready for larger performances. The tickets were priced at a meagre £2, which at the time, I thought would be a reflection of the quality of the performance I would be witnessing.

I found a seat (there weren't many) and made myself comfortable. Since MK hasn't actually released anything publicly yet, I was intrigued as to what collection of songs he would perform. Before i had time to think, the spotlight fell on MK, who was sat in the middle of a tiny stage. After a few verbal greetings and thank you's for attending, he opened the show with a cover version of the 1994 top ten hit 'Stay (I Missed You)' by Lisa Loeb. As the acoustic guitar kicked in I was wondering what kind of voice he had, since i'd never actually heard him. Anyway, after a reasonably long and intricate instrumental introduction, the vocals finally kicked in. After that, the four minutes passed quickly. He has a rather simple voice, didn't do any of the vocal fiddly bits, usually confined to the territory of Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey; his singing style remained simple and straightforward, and it was most effective. He carried the song off well, and stuck generally to the original version in terms of vocal harmony, with the exception of a few mild variations. In general, it was a plausible performance; and a decent, if a little uneventful introduction to the gig.

He then moved on to a song more suited for a concert at an old folks home than for the vibrant youth crowd he's aiming to wow. A classic by the Carpenters called 'We've Only Just Begun' followed the Lisa Loeb hit, and despite it being a good song, I feel was not the time or the place for nostalgia. Despite this slight set back, I listened, and he handled the delicate harmonies weaved out by Karen Carpenter adequately enough to pass off. Despite yet another long intorduction, the song lasted only three minutes, which was swiftly followed by one of the tracks of his so called 'spoken but never seen or heard of' album. A track ominously titled 'Heaven Sent', which turned out to be a complete change in musical direction. Here he went for a fusion of pop and dance accompanied with a simple melody that was demonstrated with meaningful but uncomplicated lyrics. The track itself seemed to last for an eternity; i'm positive he didn't start singing for a solid one and a half minutes. (He must have some fixation for long intro's?) All in all, it lasted for five and a half minutes, which suprisingly enough, passed relatively swiftly. Considering all of the chopping and changing in terms of whether or not he's doing an album, the song itself was not one to be ashamed of. Simple and catchy; the basic elements for a hit some might say, were present.

After a short break, the gig kicked off again with a piano based ballad penned by The Corrs called 'Closer'. He performed it well and sang with a certain meaningful tone in his voice; it was as if he meant every word. Definitely a good choice for a concert, as it showed off aspects of his vocal capabilities; which are not overly impressive, but are apt.

In yet another change in musical direction he ended the short concert with another song penned off his again elusive debut album; a track simply named 'Trees'. This song started off with haunting chords which were suddenly accompanied with regualr claps, which immediately informed me that we were all in for an explosive clubby and dancey finish. The song's melody and lyrics were definitely suited and he sang them with definite meaning in his voice. The song only lasted just over three minutes, but it seemed like longer as when you thought it was going to finish, he came back in with another verse. After it had ended, the small crowd applauded appropriately while MK modestly bowed and quietly said thank you before leaving the stage.

All in all, for a concert, it wasn't a bad one. Despite the slight decade shift with the Carpenters number, he made up for it with two tracks written by himself that are by no means genius, but are definitely worth the £2 itself! Let's just say that I don't think he'd stand out on say popstars, but he is definitely more talented than some artists today that don't even write their own music.

Rating: - 3/5