Touring without your lead singer is a strange place for a band to find themselves.
With the honourable exception of the metal scene where plenty of bands have changed vocalists more often they have underwear, swapping the voice on the microphone is often a sign of fractured friendships, creative paralysis, or a band on autopilot.
Someone like Peter Hook may have played their part in birthing some classics but live there’s little doubt that he was the third best singer in Joy Division at best.
Even those like Genesis, who arguably became bigger than ever in their Phil Collins-era, did so at the cost of critical cred.
Tonight, Doves – touring with the blessing of singer Jimi Goodwin after he sought help for substance abuse issues – don’t always soar over these hurdles but they at least manage a healthy leap.
The first factor in their favour is the crowd.
La Belle Angele is packed and enthusiastic, singing sky-scraping riffs back like football chants. It seems as if they could have packed a venue twice the size.
The second ace in the hole is their songbook. Doves were never at the forefront of sonic innovation but across their practically unimpeachable first four albums they wrote a host of brilliant songs mixing swirling post-Verve guitar work, evocative portraits of childhood and small-town life and burly post-Oasis anthems.
There may be more grey hair (and no hair) both onstage and off it but the songwriting still stands up, even with guitarist Jez Williams and drummer Andy Williams taking over vocal duties.
With its big pillars and industrial feel, La Belle might not have the best sight lines but the sound is crisp and their simple light show suits a no-frills performance, big on everyman charm.
“How are you? I’m ok, thanks for asking” Jez asks the crowd.
There’s a new record to plug – in record stores and Spotify by the time you read this piece – and live, tracks like Cold Dreaming have a scale and grandeur that makes them make total sense.
Really though, it’s clear what the sweating audience are here for. Songs like Black and White Town are instantly welcomed with huge cheers, while 2009’s Winter Hill really benefits from the live setting, it’s chiming guitar riff fuzzed up until it sounds like The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Andy adds a punk curl of the lip to Renegades, while his brother declares “Jimi is here in spirit” as he launches into the classic Caught By The River.
It’s clear Jez is the stronger of the two singers though at times he still seems to struggle to play guitar at the same time. His brother can be a little thin, with classic single Kingdom of Rust in particular suffering from both a slimmed down arrangement and a vocal that struggles to carry the tune. Even the audience singing along can’t quite lift that one.
Finally it’s time for There Goes The Fear and for this one the audience can barely be held back.
The Williams brothers might miss Jimi, but they’re doing him proud every night.