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
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