Review | The Dawn Chorus 20th anniversary gig at The Wedgewood Rooms: 'Thoroughly wholesome'

As frontman Kyle Evans notes, a touch ironically, it wasn’t actually written for The Dawn Chorus, but The Retrospective Soundtrack Players – the band half of the members went on to start after the former group split.

However, the sentiment of No Man Is Poor who Has Friends stands. And it doesn't take long for the audience to be bellowing the chorus back at him.

Friendship and the enduring power of, have become a bit of a theme for the evening.

We are, after all, here for a one-off celebration of the 20th anniversary of a Portsmouth band who split more than a decade ago.

Back in the noughties The Dawn Chorus’ brand of indie folk-rock saw them earn plaudits and undertake several national tours. But the rigours of being in a cult band with a small but loyal following combined with growing domestic responsibilities for some, meant they called time in 2012.

How much they meant to their supporters is made clear, though, when Evans asks who’s come furthest for tonight – a fan from Philadelphia in the US is quickly trumped by one from even further west, in Colorado.

Adding to the family-friendly vibe, there are numerous children in attendance – some are those of band members who were either too young or weren’t even born to see daddy play first time around.

And the band – a six-piece for most of the set – are on great form. Slightly rockier than I recall, they are tight without being slick. It almost seems a shame to be this well-rehearsed for just the one gig.

The camaraderie between the group is obvious – the joy of playing together again clear.

By the final number trumpet/keys player Paul Butler is on someone’s shoulders in the crowd, instigating the least scary ‘wall of death’ ever.

All in all, it’s a thoroughly wholesome evening. And you can’t say that very often about a night out at The Wedge...