Dr John @ Usher Hall

It's fair to say that Dr John has a bee in his bonnet right about now. This favourite son of New Orleans has been forced to see his hometown rendered almost extinct by a killer combination of natural causes and systematic political neglect. Pissed off? Well you would be. No surprise then that the Crescent City loomed large during the Doctor's show at the Usher Hall, both as the subject of songs and as the thematic emblem of the entire evening. This was largely a good thing. His late sixties output may have run the voodoo down but Dr John's current incarnation – one he has been peddling for years – is more attuned to polite middle-aged foot tapping than frenzied frugging on the bayou. Thankfully, the added political fire made for some impassioned soul fuelled moments during the show as the Doctor spelt out his desire to give those who had failed his city a dose of bad medicine. [Duncan Forgan]