Tom McRae / Alex Cornish

The support act, Alex Cornish, is definitely worth a mention. He’s a singer-songwriter based in Edinburgh, who has a very similar vocal and lyrical style to the headliner. He's enjoying some radio play at present and his song 'Until the Traffic Stops', the title track of his debut album which he plays to an appreciative and attentive audience tonight, is currently record of the week on Radio 2.

Well, seeing as Conor Oberst was all upbeat and dancy last night, it's quite refreshing to be at a show by the maestro of misery, Tom McRae. He's not really that miserable but can be relied on to provide some beautiful introspective songs and deep lyrics, and we know he's gonna be self-deprecating too and enjoy a good banter with the audience.

Tonight McRae is on acoustic guitar and joined by Oli Kraus on cello and Olli Cunningham on piano. The sound that the three of them create - acoustic, subtle and elegant - is just perfect for the songs, and the sweaty (there's no aircon and the underground venue is like a sauna) capacity crowd is enraptured for the duration of the set. A few new songs are aired tonight which sound very promising for the new album which McRae is reported to be recording at present. They open with 'Alphabet Hurricanes' and play a few songs from last year's album, 'King of Cards' – 'One Mississippi', 'Got a Suitcase Got Regrets' and 'On and On'. It was hoped that this last album, which was perhaps the most commercial of the four that he's released, would at last bring him some much deserved attention, but unfortunately, though he has a devoted fanbase, wider recognition is still alluding him and he was one of the artists dropped from the V2 record label when Universal bought them out.

McRae tells us of many times when his name has been spelt incorrectly on gig listings and that, at South by South West one year, Ray LaMontagne pulled out of a gig just before he was due to play, so McRae took his place and was introduced to a packed venue full of industry people and fans as 'Tom McRae Montagne' in an effort to keep the crowd there.

Other highlights of the set are the exquisite 'You Will Rise' and the reassuring 'For the Restless' – "so for the restless, not the peaceful sleeper, this song's for you, and for the faithless, not the true believer, this song's for you".

We're treated to one 'oldie' from his first album as part of the encore, 'End of the World News (Dose Me Up)', and the audience sing along with every word. McRae then manages to get half of the room to sing the chorus and the other half sings "this is the end of the world news" repeatedly, which works incredibly well and sounds amazing.

Sadly, McRae announces that, apart from an appearance at the Offset Festival this weekend, he's doesn't intend to play in the UK again this year (this prompts a collective moan) – he can't stand the rain and blames the British weather for his depressing songs. Hopefully he'll be back next year with a new album to showcase, and perhaps with some songs infused with New York sunshine ... but not too much.

FUTURE GIGS