Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Electric Circus, 7 Feb

Due to an unforeseeable illness, the assembled crowd at Electric Circus are to be treated to an unexpected “solo set”. Details are scant and, as Joe D'Agostino ambles onstage, the ad hoc nature of the night's entertainment becomes apparent. “I haven't done a show without a band behind me... ever”, D'Agostino admits after opening with a rough and ready version of Neutral Milk Hotel's King of Carrot Flowers Pt. One.

It's pretty unusual to see a solo set with a screeching electric guitar, and D'Agostino definitely can't be blamed after having to put together such an impromtu performance. He runs through a typical Cymbals Eat Guitars set, playing tracks from all four albums, with the emphasis skewed slightly towards new record, Pretty Years. However, he doesn't change the arrangements, rather, he just plays the guitar, sings and doesn't worry about the results.

As such the songs sound as though they are constantly missing something (which they obviously are) and the effect is a little jarring. The dense, complex CEG arrangements are gone, and we're left with loose, stripped-down renderings. D'Agostino himself notes how “weird” the guitar solos are.

As the set progresses, the crowd and D'Agostino ease into a good rhythm (with the exception of the increasingly loud contingent of the audience chatting by the bar). He takes a request or two and some of the tracks suit the new style; Have a Heart and Some Trees (Merritt Moon) being two of the best. The closing Child Bride – which D'Agostino often plays solo anyway – provides a bittersweet ending, as it demonstrates the skill that this band clearly have when playing songs the way they actually plan to.

Not quite the show that was expected, but interestingly (and pleasantly) different; full respect to D'Agostino for giving the assembled crowd a great show under the circumstances.