Big Thief @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester, 3 Nov

It’s not every day that a gig is so full you have to watch the first few minutes of a set forlornly through a door, but Big Thief are not your typical band. Tonight’s show at The Deaf Institute has somehow oversold, leaving a few people (including us) locked out for safety reasons. Of course, that isn’t Big Thief’s fault, as the sold-out crowd shows just how high the Brooklyn four-piece’s star has risen since their lauded second album Capacity came out in June.

We arrive just as the band are in the middle of the shuffling Shark Smile, and watching a beautiful rendition of Mary through the gauzy glass we spot a few people headed to the bar so eventually manage to squeeze in. From Capacity’s low-key swell to the creeping, curdling guitars of Great White Shark, Big Thief are a fine addition to Saddle Creek’s storied roster, giving off a ramshackle, experimental vibe which is no doubt fine-tuned.

As the heat of the room makes it difficult to concentrate, tonight’s set has a fuzzy air which is occasionally broken by Big Thief’s lead songwriter and vocalist Adrianne Lenker. Although she’s joined by a few band members on stage, it definitely feels like it’s Lenker’s show as she takes to her guitar to sing a few songs solo such as a cover of Twain’s Old Blue, and its acceptance of ‘Nothing’s going to take my life but life itself’. Capacity highlight Mythological Beauty, meanwhile, becomes an even heftier proposition than on record thanks to her wounded voice.

The crowd are slightly rowdy and keen to talk with Lenker, and she seems eager to share too. In the most telling exchange of the night, Lenker disputes that it’s Big Thief’s show at all, saying, ‘It’s not ours, per se.’ What she’s saying is: it’s yours now.