The famous Halfmoon Putney is one of London's longest running and most respected live music venues and has been host to performances from the likes of The Who, U2 and The Rolling Stones.

A dimly-lit, hazy room creates an intimate atmosphere – an atmosphere that the lap-tapping guitarist Erik Mongrain is clearly used to as he confidently struts on stage with his guitar and immediately sits down and begins tuning. After a brief summary of his musical inspirations (with one or two jokes along the way), the Montreal musician proceeds to play his first song, Fates, to the captivated crowd.

His handiwork on the guitar is impressive, as he seemingly effortlessly glides his hands over the chords and creates a drumbeat on his guitar simultaneously. His face deep in concentration, the somewhat mournful song lasts for around six minutes and finishes to tumultuous applause from the eighty-or-so people in the audience.

Most of his songs continue in this manner, always with Erik returning before each piece and explaining why he composed the songs. For a couple of the pieces, the guitarist is joined by bassist Benoit Germain (who is also his manager) who provides the crowd with a few of his guitar licks.

He announces his final song, takes several bows at its conclusion and exits off stage. Murmurs from the audience indicate that they are anticipating an encore. It comes in grand style as Mongrain returns, placing his guitar on his lap and plays what everyone has clearly been waiting for: his signature song, Air Tap, which has been viewed over four million times on YouTube.

There is a standing ovation from the audience as he finishes; he takes a final bow and wishes everyone a safe journey home. A highly entertaining evening from a highly gifted guitarist