Bird @ Eagle Inn, Salford, 21 November

Oh so cruelly, just as it starts, it ends. After an extended prologue that saw them cycle through lineups, Bird's opening chapter exceeded expectations by some distance. My Fear and Me managed the dual elements of mood and songcraft with canny ease, emerging as one of 2014's most compelling and essential debuts. But now, as legal issues around their name threaten to spoil the party, Bird pucker up for one final show in their current guise.

The set list is enlivened by their spirited take on a Manchester favourite, Adele Emmas screaming "I! Wanna! Be! Adored!" – and Iggy Pop fronting the Stone Roses suddenly sounds like a plan. But it's their own expansive songbook that fires the blood, and they deliver it tonight in gutsy, uncompromising fashion. The album's elegant arrangements receive a perfectly judged kicking, but these songs can take it: Ghost, as ever, the dizzying opener; a delicate, barely there Rain Song; the tribal thrum of Oh My Love. They tease their way into I Am the Mountain, the album's epic, euphoric centrepiece, and then drive their finest moment to a brutal coda, a white-fire crescendo that sets hairs on end across the room. Spent, they gather centre stage for one last celebratory huddle. Tellingly, no tears – just smiles. As they exit to a sustained ovation, the prospect of Bird dusting themselves off, picking themselves up and starting all over again adds immeasurably to 2015's promise. But for now, this Bird has flown. And how.