"It's like they're playing in my front room!" says one excited fan leant against the barrier. Their star might have faded somewhat since the heady days of the mid-noughties, but it's still a feather in the cap for Stockport to have a band like The Twang rocking up, especially for a show as intimate as this.
Its status as Greater Manchester's Town of Culture for 2024 has helped attract the likes of The Zutons (who played nearby Bask) to the town in recent weeks with The Lathums due up there and Inspiral Carpets here at AMP (the former Dr Feelgood) on the Market Place next week.
And this unplugged, whistle-stop tour through The Twang's back catalogue proves they are more than worthy of keeping such company.
Their first two albums in particular were great examples of what pushed them to the forefront of what has now been unfairly categorised as 'indie landfill.' Opener Barney Rubble, from their second record Jewellery Quarter, named after the iconic area of their native Birmingham, gets the juices flowing.
But it is their debut LP, 2007's Love When It I Feel Like This, that is undoubtedly the jewel in their crown, with the anthemic Wide Awake prompting the first big singalong of the night.
The second landmark single from their first album, Either Way, also sees the crowd booming the words back at charismatic frontman Phil Etheridge, who in his Brummie drawl constantly thanks them for their love in between songs.
Drummer Ash Sheehan, tonight on acoustic guitar and an eclectic array of other instruments, then gets the same treatment. He only has to blow the opening chords of Got Me Sussed on the trumpet to spark a full, karaoke version from the crowd with Etheridge sat, beaming ear-to-ear, admiring their work.
Their cover of Van Bran 300's Drinking In L.A, which they have made their own and has become a staple of their set, is another highlight as is Mainline from the 2012 album 10:20. There are some lulls as some newer tracks from 2019's If Confronted Just Go Mad, get an airing.
But everyone is arm-in-arm during the soppy Two Lovers, and the crowd go mad for set closer Took the Fun. This might be an acoustic set, with the thundering guitars that characterise the band's sound missing, but the fact that songs like these still work and prompt such fevered reactions whilst stripped back, shows they have certainly stood the test of time.
