It was my first time at The Luminaire, a fairly intimate venue with a healthy respect for musicians. First onstage was Lewis Garland and the Kett Rebellion. The tunes have depth and complexity, and the lyrics are clever, moving between witty and poignant. A favourite was Blackboards and Fingernails with it’s refrain "Evil is only a letter from love". The song confirms everything I already liked about the band.

The flatness of The Luminaire left us unable to get a good view of Lau when they took to the stage. Martin Green went someway to placating us with the claim they were all ugly!

That niggle aside, the audience were treated to a slick and exciting gig from a band clearly enjoying themselves. The set was a mix of old favourites and tracks from their new album ’Arc Light’. The new material was performed with skill and gusto, matched by the audience reaction. Even without sight of the band the vitality of the music and performance came through, particularly in tunes like ’The Burrian’, which runs the musical gamut.

My favourite moment of the evening though, was the encore of ’Horizontigo’. It worked up from a slow, gentle tune to an enormous, infectious event that had the entire venue excited. I was also fascinated by the use of the accordion switches as a form of percussion. It’s those ingenious touches, matched by the incredible interweaving of the instruments that makes seeing Lau not just another gig, but an event.