THE last time Mike Scott came a'roaring out of the traps in York in November 2015, he said he would "always remember tonight as the Battle of the Barbican". A dozen in the front seats had walked out, demanding a refund, upset by the bank of dancing devotees that had gathered pretty much from the start.

On his return on a balmy Saturday night, we looked set for a battle of a different kind, to save our ears, such was the banging volume for the opening Medicine Bow. The gentleman in the next seat inserted protective plugs, the rest of us gritted our teeth as The Waterboys launched into an equally raw All The Things She Gave Me, but as if by magic, lugs adjusted and Scott's forces continued at full tilt.

The first half would be a gentle acoustic set, he teased, the interval making way for some rock'n'roll. In fact, it turned out to be the reverse, just as it has been throughout this second leg of a tour mounted ostensibly to promote last year's loved-up triple disc, Out Of All This Blue.

Scott, on electric and acoustic guitar and sporadic piano, percussionist Professor Ralph Salmins, Muppets-style Memphis keyboardist Brother Paul Brown and fiddler sublime Steve Wickham remain the exhilarating core of The Waterboys since 2013. However, as so often, the ever adventurous Scott has new additions: two backing singers, Jess Kav and Zennie Summers, never backwards in coming forwards to dance or sing so divinely, or to join Wickham in a masked mummers' play for We Will Not Be Lovers. Dublin bass player Aongus Ralston added new backbone too.

Scott has a special chemistry with Wickham – more of which in the second half – but he and Brother Paul are sparking mightily too, competing in the natty hat and dapper dressing stakes as well as bantering. After Scott's affectionate homage to Brother Paul's musical past, in the kick-ass tribute Nashville, Tennessee, they improvised a riotous blues, Grown-Ass Man – exclusive to York – and set off into Still A Freak, but then Scott stopped abruptly, saying it had the "same keys, same rhythm, same vibe", and so they veered left into Fisherman's Blues, the audience on their feet for the first time, as Scott reached for a gospel finale.

Man, What A Woman and Morning Came Too closed out the first half with love and lust in the air from the latest album. Scott and co would return 25 minutes later, acoustic guitar in hand for the under-rated The Christ In You, from Universal Hall, to set an even better second set in motion. When You Go Away, the lament to characterless city centres Nearest Thing To Hip and a long story lead-in to Sante Fe were all topped by Too Close To Heaven, once left off Fishermen's Blues when spoilt for choice, but here a cornerstone of Scott at his closest to Prince.

Glory be, there were more treats, Scott and Wickham alone for another York exclusive, Willie Nelson's Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground, and a piano-and-fiddle Don't Bang The Drum nothing short of breathtaking.

Long Strange Golden Road was a long and golden set closer before the inevitable encore of The Whole Of The Moon, outshone more than once on this occasion, and one final York exclusive on this tour so far: How Long Will I Love You?, the one covered by Ellie Goulding and here reclaimed by Scott as a hearty pop ballad.

After the Battle of 2015, The Waterboys came again, they soared, they conquered. What a night.