For the 200 people lucky enough to have been invited to the launch party for Hedonism, at first glance The Monto Water Rats must have seemed unlikely to be large enough to host any event involving the mighty behemoth that is Bellowhead. Consisting of a fairly small front bar and an even smaller rear room where the band would perform, one thing could be certain - we were in for a very hot and sticky night.

On entering, the guests, made up of an even split between friends, family, music industry, press and fans lucky enough to win tickets via the Band’s twitter, facebook and myspace sites, were all issued with a souvenir laminate (listing all the upcoming tour dates for handy reference) and, prized even more highly by most of the people in attendance, a complimentary pint of the often sought Hedonism Ale, created especially for the band by the lovely people at the Potbelly Brewery in Kettering.

By 8.30pm it seemed that everyone had found their own little space ready for the dancing and jumping ahead and there was a palpable sense of excitement as everyone eagerly awaited the arrival on stage of the band. And when they did arrive they did not disappoint.

After some brief shuffling as they all squeezed on and found their spot. Then the music began. For the next hour we were treated to a run through of the entire album in order. Although many of the tunes on the album have become a regular feature on the set-list over the recent summer festival season, others had not been played since recording the album back at the beginning of the year.

Cue some confused faces from the band when trying to work out which song came next on the album. Luckily Jon Boden steered them through what was next to play.

From sing-a-long songs like New York Girls and Yarmouth Town, to tunes Cross-Eyed & Chinless and Parson’s Farewell, Bellowhead had the audience in the palm of their hand for the entire performance. If it was truly the case that some songs hadn’t been played in their entirety since the recording sessions at Abbey Road, there was no sign of it this evening - the band sounded incredibly tight.

All too soon the set was over and it was time for more thank-yous and to introduce the two very able stand-in band members of the night - James Fagan filling in for Benji Kirkpatrick on the guitar, mandolin and bouzouki whilst James Adams filling in for Justin Thurgar on the trombone.

Much to the amusement of the watching audience the band then left the stage (picking their way carefully over others’ instruments and a tangle of cables) but quickly reappeared to treat us to an encore - this time old favourites Sloe Gin and London Town. To everyone’s amazement they did find room on the tiny stage for the traditional morris dancing during Sloe Gin, although it did appear at one stage that Paul Sartin might take a plunge off the front of the stage while trying to avoid Jon Boden’s flailing arms.

Cue another departure from the stage and one final reappearance to close the show with the one song that I think would cause riots if it were ever left off the set list - Frogs Legs and Dragons Teeth.

It was nice that so many people decided to stick around in the bar afterwards for a drink and to socialise with the band, rather than rush off home, making the whole night a thoroughly enjoyable one and possibly one that won’t be repeated again in the near future.