Broken Social Scene @ Albert Hall, Manchester, 23 May

There are times when music feels utterly inadequate. With the Manchester Arena bombing still at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts, Broken Social Scene’s show tonight follows almost immediately from the vigil at nearby Albert Square and emotions are running high, in every direction. Even the notion of entertainment seems trivial, and as the crowd shuffles tentatively into the room, we wonder whether this was such a good idea after all.

The band pitch their response perfectly. They walk humbly onto the stage, applauding the crowd before so much as glancing at a guitar. "What’s most important tonight is we’re here together," says frontman Kevin Drew, and the tension begins to lessen. Next, he introduces a guest appearance from Johnny Marr (“He is your city”), who provides glistening chords on the unlikely opener, Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl. As Emily Haines and Lisa Lobsinger’s symbiotic harmonies wrap themselves around the song’s new layers of poignancy (‘Now you’re all gone… and you’re not coming back’), there’s barely a dry eye in the house, but this feeling swiftly becomes cathartic.

Still bolstered by The Smiths guitarist, the band launch into a blistering version of 2002’s Cause = Time, and the mood changes. It’s not what you’d call celebratory, but it’s somehow more buoyant than before – simultaneous sensations of togetherness and release. Marr announces, “Manchester stands together” as he exits the stage, and the cheers nearly lift the roof from its rafters.

Make no mistake, everything feels poignant tonight, and any swift glance around the room reveals plenty of dewy eyes. Old favourites like Fire Eye’d Boy and Texico Bitches ramp up the atmosphere, however, and new songs from forthcoming album Hug of Thunder sound as joyously focussed as anything the band have ever recorded – Halfway Home in particular sounds like an anthem in waiting, while Protest Song and the new record’s title track tug tightly at the heartstrings. Nothing feels out of place.

As the evening progresses, Drew delivers an impassioned ramble about the importance of love. The response, again, is rapturous, as it is when he invites us to scream together and “let it all out”. Finally, he and Haines take to the stage for an acoustic rendition of Backyards, from 2004’s rarities compilation Bee Hives, and fighting against lumps in throats, the audience joins in with its closing refrain of ‘be courageous’. It’s a genuinely powerful moment.

Shortly after, Drew bounds back onto the stage. “Are you ready for a new day?” he asks, and at least temporarily, the night takes a turn for the joyous. KC Accidental bursts into drama and rhythm via serrated riffs, and the crowd finally begins to dance. Broken Social Scene have not taken anyone’s minds away from the tragedy and horror of the preceding day – how could they possibly? – but somehow they manage to transcend the moment. Perhaps tonight could never have been merely about the music; instead we’re reminded over the course of an unforgettable evening that, even when it cannot heal, music at least has the capacity to soothe.