Johnny Flynn @ La Belle Angèle, Edinburgh, 27 Mar

Spring may have only just sprung, but it is HOT in La Belle Angèle this evening. Even before the support had finished, the tropical punch that is Holly Holden y Su Banda, several in the audience had already passed out and been taken outside. Despite standing in a sauna, spirits aren’t dampened and Johnny Flynn and his band of merry men and women are welcomed with open arms. Starting with Raising the Dead, the first track on Sillion, Mr Flynn’s now fourth studio record, the six-piece start a set that spans Mr Flynn’s back catalogue.

It’s a busy stage that includes a cellist, flautist and keys (played by support act Holden), along with the more traditional set-up. It means that the band are sounding heavier as a product of their numbers, making their Americana-tinged folk-rock sound just that little bit grungier. Barleycorn rises and swells with vocal builds and tempo changes, while Country Mile sounds far grittier than its recorded counterpart, like Neil Young in his heavier moments.

Despite his confidence when performing, Flynn seems ill at ease between songs, sheepishly murmuring to the crowd about this and that. Perhaps it’s the time away from the stage that causes this shyness, with Flynn choosing to focus on acting and fatherhood in recent years. It doesn’t stop him throwing the odd guitar solo into the mix, however, reminding us that this is a guy who really knows what he is doing.

The tub-thumping crowd favourite, The Box, closes the main set before a rather long four-song encore closes the show, the first two tracks of which are just Flynn by himself with an acoustic guitar. It is these moments, especially on Detectorists (which he dedicates to an engaged couple in the crowd), where the power and talent of his voice and musicianship is laid bare. The rest of the band join him for two final tracks, but it is his solo performance that will stay in the heat-addled brains of the audience tonight.