There can't be many stranger ways for live music fans to ease their way out of the pandemic than to witness a reformed Scottish duo play an acoustic set in a mirrored tent on a Paisley bridge.
So for a couple of hundred Buddies, awkwardly spaced out around the captivating Spiegeltent to see a stripped back Arab Strap perform on Saturday night, the evening was definitely one to remember.
The Dutch-inspired venue, relocated from County Square to Bridge Street as part of this year's Spree festivities is an attraction in itself, with its wooden dance floor, walls adorned with mirrors and cloaked in a rouge circus-style fabric.
In contrast, the stars of the show, Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton - two unassuming middle-aged Scotsmen who reformed Arab Strap following a 16-year hiatus - were not dressed to impress and allowed their music to shine instead.
And shine it does. Fresh material like The Turning of Our Bones - Middleton's bleak Scottish poetry over Moffat's gentle guitar - reminded everyone present what they missed for the best part of two decades while the obligatory calls for classic The First Big Weekend were met with "it's on the setlist hen".
With an hour on the clock, sex, drugs, death and racism are all tackled with talent, wit and a miserable realism which is the staple of Arab Strap's back catalogue.
After 18 months in lockdown and a tragic loss of life it was the lyric: "So let's live now before we're back below." that really struck a chord with those who'd ventured out with their masks on to enjoy a truly memorable night of live music in Paisley.
