Chris Tile revealed a line or two in humour. Some was self-deprecating.

When one Brightonian bellowed a jovial heckle, he replied: "I feel about me the way you feel about me."

Some was random. He told us: "The set list never lies, I do." But when Thile performed as part of the all-acoustic, easygoing Nickel Creek, on the altar beneath a cross depicting Jesus, you knew music rather than stand-up, or even preaching, was his forte.

Thile was the most charismatic of the talented Creekers - fiddler Sara Watkins, guitarist Sean Watkins and bowler-hatted, jigging string bassist Mark Schatz.

The jerking virtuoso mandolin player, lead vocalist and chief songwriter performed without affectation, lost in the music. The fluidity, dexterity and sheer musicality of his playing took our breath away.

The three-part harmonies involving Thile and the Watkins siblings were a near-perfect blend, whether the tune was fast and rollicking or you-can-hear-a-pin-drop gentle and delicate.

Likewise the string plucking with Schatz.

The quality, accessibility and variety of songs, self-penned or not (Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Robbie Robertson and Thom Yorke numbers were covered), added substance.

Songs from the edgy new album, Why Should The Fire Die?, made with Queens Of The Stone Age producer Eric Valentine, dominated their near twohour set for the head and feet.