IT WAS flawless, Kelly Jones belted out hit after hit with mechanical-like efficiency.

Stereophonics have been accused of failing to find that special rapport with the crowd. And last night, lead singer Mr Jones made obvious attempts to connect with his audience by elaborating on his "Thank-you-very-much"-style banter.

But the shy rockstar -- who performs as if he's strumming in front of the mirror in his own bedroom -- seems to want to let his songs speak for themselves -- and boy, do they do that!

Starting off with Mr Writer, Mr Jones made sure that classics such as "A Thousand Trees" and "the Bartender and the Thief" were not left off the play list.

The audience, a mixture of both old and new fans, went wild when, clearly the best record of the night, "Local Boy in a Photograph" blasted across the sell-out venue.

It's incredible that this record peaked in the UK charts at Number 51, three years ago. Now, it is by far, the Stereophonics anthem.

Lengthy set changes between songs failed to dampen the spirit of the audience who were loving every minute.

Chart-topping hits "Hurry Up and Wait" and "Just Looking " were perfectly blended with their new single, the Rod Stewart classic "Handbags and Gladrags", set to be released on Monday.

I've seen many of their concerts, including the Day at the Races, at Donnington Park in July.

But last night's performance was by far the best that I've seen them.

The whole band put in a huge effort.

Kelly Jones ditched his acoustic-style encore to end with the upbeat "More Life in a Tramps Vest". The whole building was left wanting more.

The Welsh band make a come back to the MEN Arena on December 2 with an added date, which is set to be another sell-out.

Gayle Evans