Josh T. Pearson @ Òran Mór, 22 November

Those who have encountered Josh T. Pearson’s solo debut Last of the Country Gentlemen – or, indeed, the psychedelic apocalypticism of his previous outfit, Lift to Experience – could be forgiven for expecting the Texan to be a forbiddingly aloof character. Any tension in Òran Mór, however, is immediately dispelled when he opens the show with a disjointed ramble about the dangers of excessive Lemsip consumption. “You’re supposed to take one every four hours, and I took four every one hour,” Pearson drawls. He has the rare ability to shift between this deadpan humour, with which he regales us for much of the night, and the poignant drama that characterises his solo material.

That charisma commands the crowd’s attention throughout the set, allowing Pearson – who uses a solitary acoustic guitar all night – to emphasise and draw out the silences in songs like Sweetheart, I Ain’t Your Christ and Country Dumb. Without the overdubs used on the record, these songs acquire an increased vulnerability and intensity, emphasising the distinctiveness of his tremulous fingerpicking style. Yet despite the rapturous response, the cold-stricken Pearson repeatedly apologises for “singing like shit.” If this is him on an off night, a less Lemsip-addled performance must be truly astounding.