Stagecraft is overrated. It can eliminate personality by replacing it with plastic efficiency.

Friday night's double bill was altogether more organic.

Support act Kathryn Williams played alone, not in her usual trio, just her soft voice, softer guitar and apologetic manner.

"Sorry. Hold on a second," she said, switching tentatively to an echo box, only to stun everyone with an a cappella Little Black Numbers.

Vancouver's Mountain Gals The Be Good Tanyas began in a thrall of feedback, but sailed on against this electric storm to triumph.

From her first timid "Hello", Frazey Ford talked so quietly, she was urged to speak up but such a failing was strangely endearing.

The Tanyas were performing under the influence of English tea, with Sunday-best girly dresses to match the unhurried mood and a back line of drummer John Raham and upright basest Mark Beaty playing as discreetly as Victorian children.

Their sweet camp fire harmonies cast a spell as they swapped banjos, mandolins, guitars and banter, and if Ford seemed a little distant, maybe lost in her music, Sam Parton's cheeky wit and Trish Klein's offbeat interjections kept us on our toes.

The set was spread as evenly as honey between the Tanyas' three albums and while the song from the least favoured Chinatown surprisingly grew anew, the superiority of latest release Hello Love was reaffirmed by the beautiful sorrow of Human Thing, Ootishchenia, and Ford's deepest blue title track.