Duffy
A ROW of male heads in varying stages of baldness line the front row and dolled-up middle-aged women with kitchen sink-sized handbags linger on the peripheries.
It's a sight you don't see at many gigs headlined by a 20-something performer, but Duffy - the Nefyn-born lass with the vintage voice - has spellbound this crowd of Asda-price album buyers.
She's the Amy Winehouse for Coldplay lovers: a consummate performer and crowd pleaser, but gentle with it. She struts on in an orderly fashion (there's no wobbles on her killer red heels, no hitching up her little black dress) and even her 1960s beehive - a corn-field blonde, rather than Amy's tar black - is neat and tidy.
Her performance, though, couldn't be further from Winehouse's. Live, her voice is sure and even more arresting than on record, and she handles Rockferry's trip through the octaves with controlled pitch.
Sofly-sofly
The gig's pace is softly-softly which, if there's a hole to be picked, is the biggest flaw of the night. She is, after all, ably backed by a sextet of seasoned session musicians, a string quartet and a duo of Mini-Me backing singers, leaving plenty of room to be more risky with the setlist.
Instead, Hanging On Too Long and Serious, both smouldering ballads, follow and a spot-lit a cappella intro to Syrup And Honey finds both Duffy and the crowd in fine voice.
Wonderwall
Her specially prepared treat for Manchester - a cover of Oasis' Wonderwall ("I couldn't resist! I'm sorry," she giggles) - proves a well executed gamble; stripped back to just Dufy and her capable guitarist, the track becomes the showcase moment for her gritty vibrato.
Everyone is here, though, for Mercy, which she ineviably keeps in the bag for last, strutting and posing her way through it like she's gazing out at a giant mirror with a hairbrush in her hand.
And it's this childlike enthusiasm for being on stage that, in the end, makes her such a likeable character. Bonus tracks Fool For You and Breaking My Own Heart suggest that, musically, she's sticking with the working mix of fluffy Philadelphia soul and vintage Motown, but her personality grows ever more spellbinding.
Duffy plays the Apollo again tonight (Sunday, November 30). £23.50. Call 0844 847 8000. Findlay Brown supports.
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The stage set was impressive a…