Friday night in London, I'm sure there are many people in the city knee deep in some act of debauchery or another but for myself and several hundred others it's a quiet evening in church that's on the cards. The Church in question being the 19th century Union Chapel in Islington. Mencap's Little Noise Sessions (a nine night run of low key, stripped down acoustic shows by both big names and new emerging talent) have been held here for the last three years and return this year for a fourth with a first; it's first full "rock night."

Seeing as this is the first "rock night" it seems strange to kick things off with a group called Egyptian Hip Hop from Manchester. Thankfully though there's no sign of any hip hop, then again there's no sign of any rock either. An unsigned band at the moment with all four members still being just seventeen they're clearly a little nervous which is a shame as it gives a feel more akin to a school hall recital evening than anything else. The first few songs delivered being mellowed out acoustic tinkerings interspaced with what can be best described as monk-like chanting, no discernable lyrics to me anyway, at least not until the last song of their set anyway with 'Rad Pitt' sounding like a chilled out version of Madchester legends Candy Flip. If you like to buy your CDs from your local monastic shop whilst browsing for dreamcatchers and mood rings then I'm sure you'll love these guys but they're not for me, maybe I just need more incense sticks in my life.

The King Blues open their set with frontman Itch performing a spoken word poem before being joined by the rest of the band and throwing out their 2008 hit 'My Boulder.' Itch also plays ukulele as well as handling vocals and when he sings the line "Kiss me underneath this lamp post" it really is difficult to think anything other than "Which lamp post? The one you're leaning on?" Oh yes, George Formby would be proud indeed to see how he's influenced today's ska folk generation. Fully expecting the next song to revolve around cleaning windows, it's a more than pleasent surprise to get a cracking cover of Billy Bragg's 'A New England' as the penultimate track before the parting shot of  'Save The World, Get The Girl.'

Over the past few years The Blackout have seen their profile on the UK rock scene rise faster than Pete Townshend's undercarriage mid "research" (cough cough), and the steeple shaking cheers that follow the mere mention of their name by Sessions compere and Mencap patron Jo Whiley show that the Merthyr lads would be more than capable of headlining one of these shows themselves. The majority of their set revolving around songs from the recently released new album 'The Best In Town', from opener 'Top Of The World' to the sublime sing a long finale of 'Save Our Selves (The Warning), the stripped down, slowed down acoustic deliveries combined with vocal duo Sean Smith and Gavin Butler's inimitable styles show there's more to this band than the naysayers would have you believe. 'It's High Tide Baby!' has a look in from the debut 'We Are The Dynamite' but it's newy Silent (When We Speak) that has the congregation in nothing less than awe. Also finding time mid set to pay tribute to their Welsh heritage with a cover of 'Traffic' by Stereophonics, The Blackout proved that tonight they really were the best in town. Or were they?

With the follow up to 2006 album 'Liberation Transmission' finally finished and in the can awaiting its January 10 release, Lostprophets have spent some time in the last couple of months getting back to doing what they do best...playing live. And tonight is a bit more special than normal as it is the very first time they have ever played a full set acoustically. Normally hitting the stage with more arrogance than a Iranian president in holocaust denial, they shuffle onto the stage almost nervously and take a few minutes tweaking their instruments and seats, well the musicians do, Ian Watkins instead arranging the four or five different bottles of water he's brought out with him claiming he couldn't decide which one he liked best. Ready for the unplugged journey, what better way to start than with 'Last Train Home', the roar of approval greeting the familiar intro proving beyond doubt that nerves were not needed and that they were among friends.

A "world premiere" for the second song as Ian introduces 'Dirty Little Heart' from the forthcoming album. 'Can't Catch Tomorrow' lines up third with the acoustics and brushes giving it an altogether jazz feel with its upbeat swing and snappy vocals. The loudest cheer of the night so far as Lee starts off 'Rooftops' with just him and Ian performing this one together but with somebacking vocals from Jamie. Following that the rest of the band return to the stage with some new backing singers in tow and, being Welsh, they've obviously not gone for the norm but have brought a full male voice choir with them. After a solo outing from the choir threatening to put the boys to shame they join forces for another new one, namely 'Where We Belong' before playing the lead single from 'The Betrayed', 'It's Not The End Of The World (But I Can See It From Here).

With the end of the show fast approaching it's time for the Prophets to also play their cover card, opting for a song Ian says they have long wanted to cover but never got round to before -'Rooster' by Alice In Chains is, by far, the surprise of the night and a welcome one from a band still clearly fans of the music they grew up with and love. Save the best 'til last they say and the final song of the night is "The last song on the new album". On the set list as 'You' but listed on the album as 'The Light That Burns Twice As Bright', either way whatever it's called Ian describes it as what he thinks is the best thing they've ever done. A slow burner ballad not too unlike 'Sway' but with a grand crescendo topping off the rise in emotion eminating from all on the stage complete with the choir. Finishing well past their curfew Ian thanks everyone for coming even though the tickets were "a bit pricey", but with the quality of the the perfomances here tonight it seemed more like bargain of the century.

One thing's for sure, when the songs they've been previewing tonight and over the last few months finally get their long awaited release on 'The Betrayed' early next year then the album of 2010 will surely be in the bag. And well deserved it'll be too.