Arthur Russell's Instrumentals @ Liverpool Kazimier, 11 August

If you’ve spent the past few years regularly attending gigs or clubs in Liverpool then chances are you would have heard the different sides of Arthur Russell, his classic outsider house cuts receiving regular rotation in beer gardens, or one of the city’s numerous acts citing his avant-pop compositions as inspiration. There’s an air of reverence amongst the crowd, a rare silence as the band enter the stage, only to be endearingly undermined by bandleader Peter Gordon’s forgettable Beatles quip.

This deceptively sets the tone for the night, despite the impressive CVs of each member of the band (including Liverpool favourite Rhys Chatham and the legendary trombonist Peter Zummo) the opening moments of Arthur’s Instrumentals are effervescent and joyful, a big band covered Neu! Arthur had been noted as a big fan of Muzak, that should be taken as a compliment.

The beauty of the music of Arthur Russell is that you could feel a cross-pollination of styles, elements of musique concrete in disco, or aquatic dub in his solo ballads. And so with Instrumentals his compositions run the gamut of influences, from the Beach Boys to bossa nova, new wave to minimalism, nimbly dovetailing the ebb and flow of the performance, climaxing paradoxically to Zummo’s forlorn and moving solo.

As silence is once again held up in the air and snatched into a ripple of applause, the band swiftly shift gear and accelerate to its finale. The night ends with a rapturous, and slightly surreal rendition of Is It All Over My Face?, with Zummo’s chinos gracefully swaying to the beat, Chatham exuberantly clapping and Gavin Russom’s soaring falsetto, their enthusiasm transcending age. [Jon Davies]