Oysterband's Meet You There is, in my humble opinion, the finest folk (or folk-rock) album of 2007, so it was fascinating to see whether they could transfer their lush harmonies and dense arrangements to the confines of the Zodiac - sorry, the Carling Academy - on Sunday.

No problem. John Jones and his multi-talented crew were in barnstorming form and in infectious good humour. "All this, and Carling to drink as well!" as Jones cheekily observed. This pocket dynamo strutted and smirked his two hours (almost) on the stage but his vocals have never been better, rich, warm and uplifting.

Meet You There was mined exhaustively, from the anthemic Where the World Divides to the haunting Bury Me Standing (based on Isabel Fonseca's book of that name) and the self-explanatory Dancing as Fast as I Can. The pace was relentless throughout but there was still time to savour the fiddle work of Ian Telfer and Chopper's gorgeous tone on cello. Walking down the Road showcased Alan Prosser's glorious songwriting talents and there were plenty of old singalong favourites from Rise Above and a back-catalogue stretching back 27 years.

Oysterband's youngest member was Ulsterman, Dan Donnelly, on mandolin, guitar and other instruments. Dan also played an astonishing warm-up set, looking like a young Donovan in his peaked cap, only with far more talent. Dan's sample-looping skills enabled him to play a solo version of the Fleetwood Mac classic The Chain that was just as dynamic as the original. There were musical references for the Sex Pistols and Rolf Harris before he concluded with the scathing David Gray - both perfect pastiche and a demolition of the whole bedsit troubadour revival. Definitely a name for the future.

But the night belonged to John Jones with his ridiculous shades and his frantic fifty-something oystermen. This is a band which has simply got better and better and now sits at the apogee of the folk firmament.