Villagers / Michele Stodart

The support for tonight's show at the Shepherds Bush Empire is Michele Stodart, the bass player in the Magic Numbers, who has a three-piece band with her. The music is on the bland side of mellow, giving time to marvel at the length of her locks and height of her heels, but the audience perks up when Conor J O'Brien, frontman of the headline act, joins them on guitar and vocals, along with a violinist, for 'Invitation to the Blues'.

O'Brien, aka Villagers, he of the tiny guitar and tiny fringe, returns to start the main set with a captivating song called 'Cecilia and Her Selfhood'. He sings the first part a cappella which immediately silences the crowd and we hang on every word of the intriguing tale about a beloved vandalised statue and her sister. There's another story in his next song 'Twenty-Seven Strangers' and he's then joined by his keyboardist for 'Ship of Promises' and 'Pieces', two of the better known tracks from last year's debut album 'Becoming a Jackal' which has been critically acclaimed and also Mercury nominated. The rest of the band (also collectively known as Villagers) take to the stage for the majority of the remainder of the set, the guitarist and keyboardist providing harmonious backing vocals on many of the songs.

O'Brien looks earnest and intense and hardly moves, apart from knee flexing or standing back from the mic occasionally to deliver some wailing plaintive vocals, and in swapping guitar for keys in 'I Saw the Dead'. His singing style reminds me of his namesake Conor Oberst, with that fragile, on-the-edge-of-cracking quality, and I know there have been lots of comparisons of Villagers to Oberst's band Bright Eyes. There's little banter with the audience but O'Brien does say "thank you" when someone shouts congratulations on the Ivor Novello award at the end of 'Becoming a Jackal'. It was voted Best Song, musically and lyrically, a couple of days prior to this gig, a well deserved accolade.

Villagers play all but one of the songs from the album tonight. It's a long dose of indie-folk introspection which perhaps tires the crowd as chattering resumes towards the latter half of the set and is only silenced when O'Brien sings solo again for the first song in the encore, the excellent 'That Day'. He's joined by the keyboardist for 'New Found Land' and then the rest of the band for the final two songs, 'The Pact', the Villagers' new single and maybe their most uplifting so far, and the closer 'On a Sunlit Stage'.

It's difficult to play a venue of this size without a band, and, of course, the tour bus would be lonely but, although there's no doubting the talent of these musicians, I wonder if they're surplus to requirements? The solo stuff during the set seems to be the most compelling where O'Brien's superb storytelling and songwriting skills are given the space to shine. Less band, more solo stuff and more intimate venues next time please!

FUTURE GIGS