Czars, The

John Grant’s voice is spectacular. A deep, dark, cavernous thing, with echoes of Mark Eitzel, Brendan Perry, Mark Mulcahy and all manner of troubled Yank troubadours lurking somewhere in its shadows.

During ‘Killjoy’, the standout track from The Czars’ new record The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People, it sounds sad as Bourbon, and warm and playful as an open road in Denver. And tonight, even with only guitarist Roger Green here to keep him company, for that one song Grant makes a convincing case for himself as the romantic baritone of choice for the alt. Country massive. Close your eyes and you could be having a last waltz in the sawdust of some off-track saloon.

Open them, though, and you’re very much in Belfast, surrounded by not very many people, some of whom are audibly unimpressed by the full-throated and oddly spectral fare on offer.

So, John’s got his hands in his pockets, looking cheesed off. ‘Lullaby 6000’ sounds like Glen Campbell backed by Jonny Greenwood. It’s beautiful. Old standard ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’ is given a David Lynch torch song reading that makes it every bit as creepy as it is lovely. These tunes deserve your attention.

But the response is tepid and a steady buzz of conversation hums throughout the songs like tinnitus, much to Grant’s obvious annoyance, until, fed up, he decides that he doesn’t want to sing anymore.

“This has been the first night of our British tour, and it’s been bullshit,” he says, walking off the stage.

“You should’ve brought your whole band then,” someone shouts back.

That’s unfair. These aren’t the kind of Czars to get bolshie with.