The Gutter Twins

There was little chance that a collaboration between two such iconic frontmen as Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli could go far wrong. Indeed, the first thing that hits home about The Gutter Twins’ performance this evening is that we are now, without a shadow of a doubt, beholding two absolute masters of their craft. They take to the stage with barely a glance at the attending audience and, throughout the duration of the set, have no need for the gimmicky stage demeanour which colours the live performances of so many others.

First up, it's the turn of Lanegan to impress, as the band opens - just as on recent début Saturnalia - with an astonishing rendition of 'The Stations'. He grips the mic and gazes louchely out at the first few rows, as his feral growl tears through the venue, achieving a pitch barely recognisable as being human. It unmistakeably signifies the start of something pretty special and, as the guitars erupt into the chorus' grating howl, the venue becomes charged with the electric atmosphere that is to typify tonight's performance.

Dulli, too, remains as utterly mesmerising as he has ever been, his stage manner amiable and his vocal hovering between gently melodic and stoner psychedelic, never more so than on the darkly brilliant 'Seven Stories Underground'. The pair command the stage and, running through Saturnalia almost in its entirety, succeed in drawing out all the elements which go to make it such an impressive entry into their recorded collaborations.

The stark stage lights seem to elevate them onto the pedestal they so evidently deserve, as the guitars ring and wail against their harsh, industrial rhythm section. This is played off - to spine-tingling effect - against beautiful, melodic keyboards (care of piano virtuoso Ed Harcourt, provider of this evening's soulful support), as on the superb, Waitsy 'All Misery/Flowers'. This glorious contrast converts their own material into far more than the sum of its – already pretty impressive - parts and makes, in turn, for one of the most unique and accomplished performances we have seen in a very, very long time.

The set highlight, though, comes in the form of folk staple 'St James' Infirmary Blues'. A song which has been tackled by innumerable artists over the years (Janis Joplin, The White Stripes and Tom Jones, to name but a few) with varying degrees of success, it tonight becomes unmistakeably The Gutter Twins' own. It's at this point that the pairing of Dulli's harmonic, almost dulcet tones with Lanegan's savage growl is at its most powerful and, when twinned with the stunningly bluesy keyboard work of the aforementioned Harcourt, the result is heart-stopping.

They close with a beautifully soulful rendition of 'Number Nine', from the Twilight Singers' 2003 Blackberry Belle album. Then, scarcely having moved from the spot that they adopt upon entering the stage, they leave, amidst a heavy cloud of cigarette smoke and an air of absolute cool.