Gomez band member and Brighton resident Ben Ottewell has a distinctive raspy vocal and does one very good impression.

The vocal was here laid bare with just his acoustic guitar for accompaniment.

The 80-minute set drew mainly from his solo albums Rattlebag and Stones And Shapes, with the occasional Gomez song such as the deliciously titled Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone. Ottewell played what he called his "shouty stuff" to start with.

Shouty maybe but not dancey, however this was a standing gig which would have benefited greatly had it been seated.

A lucky few sat crossed legged in the 'mosh pit', otherwise seeing and more importantly hearing were overly compromised.

Ottewell's songs deserved a more conducive setting.

He was 35 minutes into the set before the softer Black Bird settled the room.

His "inverted medley" of Starlings and Chicago finally focused everyone; the extractor fan was turned off and Ottewell called for a whiskey.

Other than the song titles he let the songs talk for themselves.

Ottewell's fine performance would have been enhanced by a smidgeon more chat, indicated by the warm response to his uncanny Heather Small impression.

Three stars