Celebratory evenings are usually for performers who are already weighed down with garlands of praise, plaudits and awards. So it was heartening that Sunday’s gathering at Brighton Dome was in appreciation of the understated and, to many, unknown talents of multi-instrumentalist Nick Pynn.

Such is the modesty of the strings player, even on his night he was in danger of being upstaged by the stars who had come to pay their respects.

Stewart Lee was on top form during an opening 30-minute salvo that dispensed with more meta-comedy in favour of straight-up belly laughs. Kevin Eldon was frenzied in delivering songs which worked better on his TV show, while Arthur Brown, looking uncannily like Genghis Khan, was as satanic as one would hope.

Brighton institution Jane Bom-Bane ran the 1960s rocker a close second in the lovable oddball stakes with her incredible hats and a physics lesson song that was equally ambitious, baffling and charming. Credit should also go to Kate Daisy Grant whose trio of songs brought a delicious melancholic contrast to the comedic moments.

As for Pynn himself, his live-looping tracks were impressive if a little self-involved while lacking the interaction with other musicians that makes live performance so thrilling.

But little moments – the haunting sounds from the crystal sisters of wine glasses, the finger picking of a violin or the dazzling virtuosity of closer Orange Blossom Special – confirmed why all these talented performers had been brought together for the show.