Saturday night saw indie pop's most high profile double act THE NEW MENDICANTS hit town in support of their 'Australia 2013' EP.
The group, copmprising principally of Teenage Fanclub singer NORMAN BLAKE and JOE PERNICE of Pernice brothers fame have been almost perpetually on tour since their conception at the turn of the year, almost exclusively in the form of this two-man acoustic show.
But first there was a dollop of Caledonian soul from support act BLUE ROSE CODE aka Ross Wilson, who treated us to a selection of songs from his repertoire of oddly endearing harmonica-laced ballads, more than one of which was devoted to his beloved home city Edinburgh.
The late venue switch proved to be a wise move, with the International Anthony Burgess Foundation providing the perfect setting for the main event's intimate jam.
Although the NEW MENDICANTS songs dotted throughout the set - most notably INXS cover 'This Time' and 'Sarasota' - were impressive in their own right, it was the Teenage Fanclub/Pernice Brothers classics that stole this stripped-down, front-room show.
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Blake set the ball rolling with a solo rendition of 'Did I Say', and from thereon in neither he nor Penice looked back.
A police siren timed perfectly in synch with the intro to Pernice's 'Amazing Glow' triggered a fittingly nervous bout of audience laughter, whilst Blake's extra-bright and breezy delivery of 'Baby Lee' was especially welcome in this sticky heat, coming laced with the TFC front man's multicoloured glockenspiel.
And it was Blake who steered the show to a triumphant conclusion with an irresistibly singalong rendition of 'I Don't Want Control Of You' to round off this crowd-pleasing evening of nostalgia superbly.
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