The Troubadour would be enough to test the nerves of the most hardened performer – the crowd didn’t even look like thickening up until 9:30, and even then, it was hardly buzzing. But that’s what makes the Troubadour the Troubadour – relaxed, comfortable, if a little comatose at times.

Old Man River (Ohad Rein, formerly of Gelbison) eventually found his way to the stage, drawing a ripple of applause from the slowly growing crowd. His voice is really quite special, a touch of jazz huskiness added to his soothing voice stops it from sounding too twee and adds a bit of depth. There’s a touch of Ben Kweller about his lyrics, which are very honest and simple, but hauntingly beautiful at the same time. Better Place was augmented with a poem from an audience member, which added (if possible?) to the laidback nature of the show. By the halfway mark in his set there were people sitting on the floor in front of stage, which made it seem a little less hollow. Of course it was a chilled out vibe at the Troube, but Old Man River played it perfectly as far as the audience involvement went – he didn’t try to make it a conversation broken up with songs, but he still engaged the audience well (“clap solo!” injoke for people who were there). Trousers was a crowd fave, and the obvious finisher Sunshine, which sounded very thick for just one man and a sample pad.

iOTA started after the crowd had grown significantly and with a minimum of fuss with a hauntingly beautiful track which showcased his mastery of his two instruments, voice and guitar. His gentle tapping of the harmonics on the guitar and sweet vocal gave the opener an amazing ethereal feel which grabbed the crowds attention but not by force. He slid into Million Miles next, before bringing in some of his new album. Everyone Wants Someone They Can’t Have shows just how talented he is as a songwriter, using simple but potent lyrics to captivate the audience. He gradually worked up to some audience chatter, revolving around his temporarily non-existent drummer. Once his percussionist took the stage, they put on a great two man show, both men using their instruments like they weren’t afraid of them – using them to make sound rather than just keep beats and strike chords.

Drip feeding the audience through the set with chat, iOTA wove together the mood, through talk and his lyrics, so by the end of the show there was a real feeling that the audience had not so much watched a show, but been involved. He used his chat to loosely link the songs, creating a narrative that’s sorely missing at a lot of more intimate gigs. He’s a standout vocalist who doesn’t overplay his strengths — he’s got a great high register, but he mixes it with enough low end growl so it doesn’t sound too poppy, because at the end of the day, his music is far too gritty to be considered pop. His lyrics can be raw and blunt, but he can just as quickly snap into descriptive metaphor. This unpredictability kept the audience in a constant state of anticipation, held by his masterful use of all the tools at hand — only a problem with his foldback amp late in the set made this hold waver slightly. He finished with the frenetic Fat Elephants On Smack to snap the audience out of their trance-like state — a great set from a great individual artist.