It doesn’t happen too often, but once in a while you’ll catch a support act that is vastly superior to the headliner. In fact, it is somewhat hard to concentrate on the headliners, Cheer, when the preceding musical display is so overwhelmingly tremendous. Extravagant praise it may appear, but the guitar playing of Moa is truly astonishing.

Without any pretence, Moa takes to the stage and knocks out a sequence of folk tales so intricate in their melodies and finger-picking that it is difficult to imagine how an individual could play all this alone. Surely there should be more guitars somewhere? A quick glance around Henry's Cellar discovers awe pervading the room, jaws dropping, and bodies being repositioned to get a better view.

Introducing one number as “a scary song...but not that scary,” we are treated to the sight of Moa’s left hand flying and twisting across the fretboard with startling fluency. Bum notes? Nope. It is all too much for some members of the audience by the time we reach the concluding exuberance of ‘Emperor.’ Turning the acoustic guitar onto its back and playing a harmonic tapping melody whilst keeping a steady rhythm through drumming the body and finger-clicking, we’re witnessing a level of skill on the old 6-string instrument not normally seen at the everyday gig.

Then we have Cheer. It’s a problem for the unfortunate man that he has to follow on, as one would be hard pushed to find many acts who could top Moa’s performance this evening. Utilising an echo-heavy effects board, his songs nearly work as a relaxant after the high energy of Moa. But, really, they come across as more of a bland exercise in ambient sound. Perhaps on another occasion Cheer's entirely instrumental set would have been more satisfying: his music is pleasant enough. But one can’t help but feel the running order tonight was somewhat askew.