Beth Orton, David Kitt

It’s that same familiar electro-acoustic bill that wowed the Olympia early last year – two artists who fuse beatbox and six string sensibilities so well but still manage to remain so delightfully easy on the ear.

Kittser has been tearing up and down English motorways during the last month with The Moldy Peaches, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev and Orton. And if that wasn’t enough acoustic anarchy in the UK, he also had the trifling little matters of Glastonbury and Bowie’s Meltdown to contend with. Kitt and co. held their own headlining soirée across the road in Dingwall’s the other night, so this is a stripped down, skeletal run through a few favourites from The Big Romance. Diarmuid McDiarmada gives good sax, Brian Mooney adds guitar and gentle noise while Richie ‘Redneck’ Egan has a few keyboard tricks up his sleeve. It’s a short and exquisitely sweet set with ‘Step Outside In The Morning Light’, ‘Saturdays’ and ‘Into the Breeze’ captivating an attentive and highly appreciative ballroom.

Beth Orton gets a tremendous reception, slightly unusual for such a plaintive performer who seems to possess some strange power for turning self-effacement into a curiously mesmerising spectacle. “This will either be great... or awful!” she jokes. “Lets just see how we get along.” Beth and ourselves get along swimmingly, despite the fact that she is bravely essaying her set almost entirely from her forthcoming Daybreaker album that virtually nobody here has heard yet. A full drum kit and robust amplification make this an ever so slightly noisier affair when compared to previous lingering evenings with Beth. String, cello, electric piano and horns make for a fuller, warmer sounding outing.

Our patience for the newies is rewarded with a run through ‘She Cries Your Name’ and ‘Stolen Car’ amidst a smattering of Central Reservation material. The ‘hits’ highlight how difficult it is to attune to the new album’s delicate nuances and intimate late night subtleties on first hearing, especially in this slightly too cavernous hall, for the comfort of these gracefully crafted bedsit hymns. Vicar St.’s cozy environs and impeccable PA quality should be a far more conducive and appropriate setting this autumn. Until then, Daybreaker is a new dawn that is best enjoyed on a one to one basis.