You can't fault the promoter's generosity in offering four acts for the price of one tonight but perhaps The Secret Show are one band too many on an already crowded bill.

A fledgling acoustic trio with a fondness for The Pentangle, Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll and Janis Joplin, they're a mixture of folk, jazz and blues with a whiff of patchouli oil.

Singer Fuzzy Jones has a smoky voice and bags of personality but their meandering set only really flickers into life when guitarist Jeremy Bennett chips in with some very Sixties-style West Coast harmonies.

Essie Jain, on the other hand, is a revelation. Accompanied by just a cellist, she is unfazed by malfunctioning microphones or the fact that she has to turn her back on the audience to play the bar's brand new piano.

Musically she inhabits a space between Laura Nyro, Jane Sibery and Joni Mitchell yet this New York-residing expat - who's signed to the Leeds-based Leaf Label - has poise and ideas and a rich, enchanting voice all of her own.

Glory, from her debut album We Made This Ourselves, is deliciously bittersweet while the mellifluous Stop suggests her forthcoming CD The Inbetween will be a little more playful and upbeat.

Perhaps feeling the need for contrast with what's gone before, Benjamin Wetherill opts to perform his set on an electric guitar with an array of pedals and loops.

It's a bold move that doesn't entirely pay off, with the local hero's fragile quivering voice rather swamped by noisy effects and a thumping kick drum which he also uses for accompaniment.

It's left to Wirral singer Liz Green to round off proceedings on a more uplifting note with a mixture of folk, jazz, blues, chanson and spirituals.

Though a little the worse for wear for an evening spent sipping wine ("They shouldn't put me on last; I get drunk"), there's no denying her powerful, vulnerable tones - somewhat reminiscent of Sixties Greenwich Village singer Karen Dalton - have considerable appeal and, as she wanders singing through audience then implores them to join in an old-fashioned singalong about the perils of booze (complete with prompt cards), she has the room in her hand.

It's so exuberant a show you can even forgive her out-of-tune guitar.

For more on The Secret Cinema click here

For more on Essie Jain click here

For more on Benjamin Wetherill click here

For more on Liz Green click here