Given the recent adoration of Mr Mangan here at Rare FM this was always going to be a gushing review. But by god, it was even better than any of us had expected. With support from Welsh folkster Sweet Baboo and Icelandic pop-sweetheart Hafdis Huld, Dan Mangan's night is as special for him as it is to the adoring audience.

Dan Mangan - Canada's sexiest musician?

First to take the stage is Sweet Baboo with his bittersweet country-folk. Now, I heard Sweet Baboo on Radio 6 a few months ago and immediately thought, “Ooh, has Johnny Flynn taken a turn for the avant-garde”. Ignorantly, I thought nothing more of it until tonight. I will not forget again, for Sweet Baboo has the loveable charm of all things twee with the witty turn-of-phrase of  The Wave Pictures front-man Dave Tattersall.

Following the surreal lyrics of Sweet Baboo is the crowd-pleasing Hafdis Huld from Iceland. Her witticisms have as much of a pull on the crowd as her sweet and delightful tunes, so much so that she even had her own mini-encore - all spurred on by a surprisingly lively crowd at the lovely Lexington.

Now, for the man himself, Dan Mangan. We've ranted and raved about Dangan here for some time, and his undeniable charm and observational lyrics more than met all expectations we had of him. Playing songs from his critically acclaimed second album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice, Mr Mangan charmed the crowd with his soft-yet-gritty vocals and that loveable face that had him shortlisted by CBC3 for 'Sexiest Indie Musician'.

Dan performed some of our favourite tunes including 'Sold' and 'Tina's Glorious Comeback' from his recent album, including a couple of his tunes from his debut release Postacards and Daydreaming. Having received raucous applause from his Canadian fans in London as well as us newbie Brits, Dan went on to perform the crowd-pleasing sing-along 'Robots'.

Clearly moved by the reception from the audience, Dan returned to perform a short pun-filled tune (about touching his tulips) and a mesmerising cover of The Smiths' 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'. The evening was clearly as special to Dan as it was for the audience. He had worried that The Lexington was too big a room to fill, especially after the several previous gigs in London over the last fortnight. This was certainly not the case, the room was packed, and each and every punter got more than their money's worth. A special evening for the audience and hopefully an even more important beginning for Dan before the UK release of Nice, Nice, Very Nice in the coming months.

Also, you can check out the wonderful session with Dan in the UCL quad at Rare Sessions - Dan Mangan

Words and pictures by Jonathan Wilson