About once a year, a lineup too delectable to miss pops up in your hometown. Even though we’re only in February, last week’s showcasing of brilliant new talents Ben Howard and Daughter at the UEA LCR will easily be 2012’s defining gig moment for anybody that witnessed it.

The sold out room chatters away in polite anticipation, and falls almost silent as experimental alt-folk trio Daughter take to the stage and begin. Breathtaking renditions of ‘Youth’, ‘Landfill’ and ‘Candles’ highlight a phenomenal sense of melody and accomplished arrangements. Exceptional frontlady Elena Tonra has traded the acoustic guitar of earlier demos for a beautiful electric, and she later trades instruments with badmate Igor to play bass on one song. It’s obvious that a lot of the audience are already familiar with the hauntingly beautiful sound of Daughter, with sing-a-longs and shouted-out song requests featuring as staple part of the band’s too-short set.

Ben Howard appears on stage amongst cheering and whooping from an overexcited audience and begins his set with two new songs. The daring tact is well-received, and the whole room seems completely captivated by Ben and his band from the offset. ‘The Wolves’, ‘Diamonds’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up’ are obvious crowd-pleasers – as you’d hope, given the copious amount of radio play they’ve received in recent months. ‘Old Pine’ is a surprising crowd favourite, with most of the audience bellowing out the words with as much emotion as the band themselves, never missing a beat.

The charm of Ben Howard is in his ability to come across as an incredibly normal guy; it’s like watching your mega-talented mate play a show at your local. There are no frills or unnecessary effects on offer here. Ben offers great music in its purest form. An extended version of ‘The Fear’ is part of an unfaultable encore, and after a long set, it marks the end of a very special experience. From the enthusiastic babble that erupts after Ben has left the stage, I’d imagine all 2,000 punters feel exactly the same: like you’re leaving a fun fair at the end of a long, brilliant day – you wish you could stay forever.

Ben Howard and Elena from Daughter performing ‘Black Flies’.