If Beth Orton decides to give up singing, she could always carve out a career as a comedienne.

When not crooning one of her melodic tunes at the Dome Concert Hall, the Norfolk lass was amusing the audience with her repertoire of jokes.

Her favourite? A chicken and an egg are relaxing after just having an intimate moment. The chicken lays back and drags on his cigarette. The egg looks over and quips: "Well, I guess that answers that old question."

Dressed casually in a plain black dress and brown boots, Orton giggled in such an infectious way after telling the joke, she soon had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand.

The capacity audience were even happier when Orton declared she was going to dedicate that night's gig to the smouldering remains of the West Pier.

The urban folk queen described the sight of the burning structure, which she had viewed from the window of her hotel room after arriving in Brighton on Friday, as "very sad but also very beautiful".

The words could also be used to describe Beth's music.

The jokes and chat punctuated the soulful and mellow ballads which have made her a household name.

Her music is both soothing and haunting and the rest of her band, including a cellist, violinist, and keyboard player on crutches (he broke his foot, Beth explained to the audience), seemed just as into the sounds as she clearly was.

Orton said how happy she was to be in Brighton as she launched into performances of Paris Train, Concrete Sky and the beautiful Mount Washington.

The audience seemed more than a little reluctant to leave their seats when the concert was finally over.

Hypnotic, charming, and packed with feeling, Orton's performance provided the perfect chilled-out Saturday night entertainment.