Southend’s Sam Duckworth is Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, and he bursts on to the stage at Fibbers with infectious enthusiasm, the crowd and five-man band joining in as they launch into Collapsing Cities from the self-titled new album.

The sea of nodding heads continues through new and old songs, with electric renditions of early acoustic ballads getting the biggest cheers, particularly I Spy and An Oak Tree, from debut album Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager.

After half an hour, the band leaves Duckworth on stage with his acoustic for a solo set, during which the notoriously political 24-year-old lectures the audience on the danger of greed, referencing our economy and a 17th century parable.

One new, overlong dirge and a couple of solo tracks later, the band returns, but only to provide backing music to another lecture, this time on racism and the British National Party.

Eventually, an energetic calypso-style track gets the crowd back onside, and a fantastic cover of Daft Punk’s Digital Love sees them flock back from the bar for more.

The band is tight and talented, with the trumpet, synthesiser and backing vocals all working well, although Duckworth’s voice and acoustic are occasionally lost and muffled under the electric guitar, heavy drums and bass.

With his big eyes peeping out from a mop of black hair, and a voice which gets stronger as the set continues, Duckworth’s energy makes up for an uneven night, which shows the crowd still prefer great music to political ranting.