Friday 26/01/07 Bonnie Prince Billy @ Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Getting jiggy. Throwing shapes. Two words that don’t immediately skip to mind when contemplating the finer points of a Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy gig. Yet tonight, the man also known as Will Oldham is happily making like the Dancing Priest from Father Ted, skittering like a demented child across the stage with backing singer Dawn McCarthy. And the reason for the madness? His tunes, obviously.

Usually a master of downbeat, but majestic songs, tonight everything is ramped up into a clash of pure Americana and crunching guitars. So ‘Master and Everyone’, a hushed ballad becomes a fuzzed out, throbbing piece of epic country, all driving beats and Spector-esque crescendos. ‘Love Comes To Me’, the understated opener from recent album The Letting Go, becomes a hillbilly belter (a good thing), giving Oldham the chance to fully work those jaunty leg moves.

However, main set closer, ‘I Called You Back’, steals the show, precisely because it allows the band to take a break from creating dance mayhem and instead deliver something truly stunning. Already a hair’s on the back of your neck track in its original form, it becomes something incredible when given the band treatment. Oldham and McCarthy’s voices intertwine over lush piano and guitar, building steadily to a rousing climax. Dancing, vast soundscapes and deafening noise aren’t what you expect from Bonnie ‘Prince Billy. But when he gives something like this, it’s hard to be disappointed.