After three years of silence it’s only apt that Beirut return to the UK in an old worn out chapel hidden in the centre of Manchester.

Walking through the peeling plastered walls and in to the huge cavern like hall, the band have clearly chosen a hidden gem for their warm up gig. Stood in the crowd it feels like we’ve been transported to a secret bunker before the band’s huge unveiling – a headlining slot at Green Man Festival.

As the band open with the light notes of ‘Nantes’ it’s impossible not to smile as the song builds into a magnificent brass arrangement. Echoing around the impressive hall, the full force of the band’s volume is overwhelming as Zac Condon’s vocals carry both a melancholy and celebratory tone.

Mixing and matching across albums, EPs and live favourites ‘Santa Fe’, ‘East Harlem’ and ‘Vagabond’ come and go with ease but it’s ‘Postcards From Italy’ and ‘Elephant Gun’ that transforms the room into a feast of Eastern-European celebrations. The brass filled chorus’ leave audiences members bopping with a spontaneous glee, whooping one horn solo to the next. Condon’s voice never falters as he effortlessly switches instruments before conducting his ensemble into another rousing sing-a-long. Only a fit of giggles during ‘Forks & Knives (Le Fete)’ temporarily shatters the bands’ near perfect performance.

A certain energy is also noticeably absent. As the group launch into another brass-led hook, there’s a lack of excitement seen in previous live performances. New songs are interspersed with the old but it’s not until ‘No No No’ that there’s a sense of progression from the traditional brass arrangements.

As the march of ‘The Gulag Orkestar’ closes with a huge procession it feels only natural for Beirut’s music to be heard in such grand surroundings, but three years after The Rip Tide we can’t help but yearn for something new.

We arrive early on the proviso that this evening’s support band Happyness are tipped for big things, and who have just taken to the stage as we walk in. Though they're from London, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were from America, as they quite clearly have a variety of American influences, all worn firmly on their sleeves.

With an appearance and attitude to match, these guys exude the slacker image. However, their music is completely on point having been described as a British Wilco. They can do very little wrong in our eyes, and with tracks like ‘Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same’ there’s a distinct element of humour attached which really shows through.

Happyness have truly made us happy this evening, and with their job complete tonight’s headliners take to the stage. Opening up with ‘American Horror’, perhaps our favourite track from the Real Hair EP, with its huge riffs and catchy chorus, is a great way to get things under way. If you listen too closely however, you can really hear the angst in the lyrics.

Sadie Dupuis belts her way through the opener; she has an excellent stage presence, snarling out the lyrics, which again, is a fantastic way to kick things off. The set moves at pace, the band is tight and there’s a great atmosphere in the Cluny tonight. ‘Everything’s Bigger’ is exactly that and it sounds huge, which is the one thing that takes us by surprise with this evenings set.

On record the band pull no punches but live they step the whole thing up a level. It’s a full on aural assault but paradoxically, not without a real delicacy to the lyrics, but that’s what we’d expect from a lady with a masters in Poetry. Similarly tracks like ‘Hexxy’ possess intricate lyrics coupled with the tendency to erupt in to those aforementioned huge riffs.

Speedy Ortiz close out the main set with the awesome ‘Taylor Swift’, a typically heavy track which chugs along with some real depth to the bass. The lyrics are filled with wit and cynicism. To all those guys who brag about having X amount of girlfriends, here’s Speedy Ortiz’s take on it with a quite frankly awesome sarcastic title.They come back to treat us to a couple more heavy tracks, before bidding us adieu for the evening. Having had our ears assaulted, we make our way out into the dark, Newcastle night and all we can talk about is how truly great this evenings set was. Speedy Ortiz are fast becoming a firm favourite for us.