In a word: Yes. Within moments of appearing on stage, as the audience applauded and he carefully made his way to his chair, John Martyn flicked his hand at the audience in a camp "ooh, stop!" gesture which set the tone for the duration of the performance. He was joined on stage by Alan Thompson on bass, Spencer Cozens on keyboard, and Arran Ahmun (or as I misheard "Aaron Baboom") on drums. Every member of the band came across as a talented musician in their own right, particularly Thompson on bass.
Martyn and band opened the set with "CoolTide": An odd choice, and in comparison with the rest of the set one that didn't really have much of an impact. It was undoubtedly good, but coming so soon after the unease and shock of his appearance, it struggled to make a significant impact on me.
When "CoolTide" finished, John started to chat with the audience. It soon became apparent that the guy in the BBC documentary was still around. He joked - both with the band and the audience, he laughed at himself and the other members of the band, bursting into "Happy Birthday" when he announced it was Thompson's birthday, and at one point insisting that, between them, Thompson and Cozens simulated the sound of fireworks while he played the part of the cooing spectator. Banter was plentiful, and like his support act Martyn doesn't take himself too seriously (he was reduced to fits of giggles during a drum solo). Just as with his singing, you have to concentrate when he talks; often there are virtually no gaps between words and your brain has to slow things down a bit. I didn't have too much trouble understanding him, but I overheard several members of the audience remark at how difficult he was to understand. I suspect a few years of trying to make sense of The Fall's Mark E. Smith helps.
At this stage, I should point out that I might not recall every track that John played. I'm reasonably certain he followed "CoolTide" with a brilliant rendition of "Couldn't Love You More". I know he played "Glorious Fool" - a song which is just as relevant today as it was during Ronald Reagan's presidency, when Martyn wrote it, and followed that with Ben Harper's "Excuse Me Mister". The problem is this: I discovered that a strange thing happens when John Martyn plays. For large parts of the performance I found myself to be completely absorbed, unaware of the people around me, or of the venue I was in. And no, I hadn't smoked anything - the performance was just that good.
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