Hidden beneath a Russian cafe in West London, the concert room at the Troubadour (a venue which hosted Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Paul Simon in its time) was filled to its 60-person capacity for Andy Thornton's first solo show in the city. It was a night of contrasts, with the instrumental, mood-focused sounds of Paul Sebastian providing an unusual support to Andy Thornton's more song-oriented approach, but the contrast helped ensure that each set was distinct and both musicians left their own impressions.

Paul Sebastian's guitar style is highly unusual. Following in the footsteps (or should that be finger-steps?) of Stanley Jordan, Sebastian uses a surprising brand of fret-tapping, along with plenty of delay and echo to build up complex sonic testimonies which meld together the sounds of rock guitar with more classical influences without venturing into prog-rock territory. More used to playing impromptu on the streets of London, Sebastian was playing his first formal concert, and his nerves certainly showed, at times detracting from the coherence of his set and leaving an impression that his best material comes when no one's watching. His fingers darted at speed around the guitar's neck and the sonic landscapes were carefully developed, showing an immense amount of promise kept free from convention.

Andy Thornton, by contrast, was more than comfortable taking his place at the front of the room. Accompanied by his acoustic guitar, he shared a cross-section of the material from his two albums, revealing at times a Cockburn-esque sound, but with enough of himself thrown in to assure that he is his own artist. The atmosphere was light, even if the subject of many of the songs (though not all) was more serious. Like the festival he manages, Thornton's art weaves experience of God into expressions of emotion and observation, frequently touching on issues of justice and often questioning.

The material from Thornton's latest album, "The Things You Never Say," generally worked well in a more stripped back setting, although the sing along favorite "She Won't Talk to Me" (which Thornton claims was a hit single in the 50s, presumably through some marvellous breakthrough in time travel) works better with a full band, and "Heartbeat In Everything"'s more developed arrangement was missed. The songs are strong, however, and work with a range of arrangements.

"Rage In the Darkness" was the only song which saw two musicians on stage together, as Andy Redman joined Thornton with his djembe. A song exploring the role of religion in so many conflicts, it is a good example of Thornton's approach and its rhythmical approach suits his voice well.

I've been thinking about a world without conviction
Wondering if we just can't trust our minds
Or is it just a fact of our condition
That we can't believe without creating sides