A series of shows from the Waterspout Theatre got off to a flying start on Thursday with a solo performance from singer and guitarist Jonathan Frith in the cramped surroundings of Rock Island Coffee.

If ever a venue deserved to be described as intimate then this is it -- if the audience had been any closer to the artist we would have been able to tell if he had flossed recently. Indeed the closeness must have made the performance even more nerve racking for the performer would have been acutely aware if the show hadn't gone down well with the 25-strong audience.

And for one horrible moment I thought I would have to be hiding my dissatisfaction as the opening number `Positive' dragged on with verse after verse of stream of consciousness lyrics.

Although Frith is sometimes unfairly saddled with the tag Dylan-esque, `Positive' is certainly out of that stable having a very similar structure to `Subterranean Homesick Blues'.

Frith's guitar sound suffered from a borrowed pick-up which resulted in a muddying of the tone. And I couldn't help thinking that the amplification was hardly necessary for a room no bigger than the average kitchen.

But if `Positive' proved a negative to me the rest of the evening was a definite plus.

`New Dawn' was charming and `First Sunrise' was also a delight. This song was about the birth of his child and Frith dedicated it to his wife Kathleen with a brief monologue about the labour.

`Beautiful Day' was the next piece which saw Frith well into his stride. This was followed by a classy blues number with some choice harmonica fills from Last Rights singer Owen Burgess who was on hand to help out from the front row.

The sexy, summery `Relax Lady' was the next on the set list while `Child of the River' had a similarly sunny laid-back feel.

But Frith is unafraid to tackle meatier issues as he launched into `Too Close to Home' -- a song about slavery. Later in the set he tackled the Rebecca Middleton issue.

As the evening wore on the strength of Frith's vocals became more apparent as he tackled high notes and breathy low notes with equal aplomb.

However the weakness of his guitar playing remained a constant throughout the show.

The haunting, breathy `The Last Song' was appropriately billed as the last song.

But of course the audience weren't about to let the talented Frith away without doing an encore so he finished the set with the `Snakeoil Song' -- again supported by Burgess - which brought to a close an enjoyable evening.

Organisers at the Rock Island Coffee pronounced themselves well pleased with the performance and I could only agree.

MATTHEW TAYLOR THEATRE REVIEW THR REV