THE last Wainwright to grace this stage ended his act high in the air, in sequins and fishnet tights. Loudon keeps his feet on the ground, letting his wit doing the soaring.

What a lot of these Wainwrights there are: Loudon's mock-operatic son Rufus, his sweet-voiced, occasionally foul-mouthed daughter Martha, and, in a new entry to the field, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Loudon's daughter by Suzy Roche, one of the singing sisters. Lucy does the support slot and then returns on back-up duty, briefly with mother Suzy too But Loudon is the man everyone has come to see, the fans hollering out requests and cheering on familiar songs.

Loudon at 60 remains a tremendous performer, funny, emotional, crusty, engaging and, as he notes, unashamedly self-absorbed - "It's about me, it's always about me."

Loudon takes self-obsession to new heights, yet he turns the navel-gazing inside out and makes it seem remarkably human, giving his songs such general appeal.

His humorous numbers work best, especially the hilarious I Don't Think That Your Wife Likes Me and Heaven, but the emotional songs connect beautifully too.

Half Fist, a wonderful song about his grandfather, stands alongside such sad songs as Primrose Hill and the early delight, School Days, while his late mother inspires two more recent Loudon classics: Missing You and the stand-out song, White Winos.

His performance rings with energy, charm and elevated grumpiness, all backed up by chunky rhythmic guitar playing. What a treat.