The expert stagecraft learned over almost 14 years of touring was obvious from the moment Colin Meloy walked onstage alone, armed with an acoustic guitar.

The opening track of their seventh album The Singer Addresses His Audience – a tale of a band which needs to change to survive despite what their devoted fans might want – grew in stature as the rest of the band joined him, until all seven exploded into an electrifying jam, setting the tone for what was to come.

Speaking to The Guide last week Meloy had suggested the Portland outfit hadn’t really changed all that much over the years.

But the increased focus on simpler, more direct songwriting became clear from the selections culled off latest album What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World compared to their earlier more concept-driven work.

That said the anthemic latest single Make You Better contrasted well with the 2006 prog-rock song suite The Island, creating similar highs and lows but condensed over a shorter time frame, with Meloy’s excellent wordplay still at the forefront.

Throughout the seven-piece didn’t take themselves too seriously – culminating in hi-jinks with luminous duct tape during the raucous second encore The Mariner’s Revenge Song.