Jonathan Rice at Soho House

To Soho House for a low key performance by Jonathan Rice, organised by Artists’ Den, who specialise in tiny, secret gigs in unlikely locations by upcoming artists.

There’s something very indulgent about watching a brilliant acoustic set from a genius singer songwriter, whilst ensconced in a deep velvet armchair, with a glass of Merlot on a Sunday evening.

I’m not quite sure what scruffy, plaid shirt-wearing, baby-faced twenty-four year old Jonathan Rice thought of doing a showcase at Soho House. He opened with, “I’ve never done a gig in a place with moisturiser in the bathrooms”, before going on to ask the audience to rattle their jewellery if they enjoyed the set.

Still, whether he was laughing at or with the audience, he sang an extraordinary set, packed with great deadpan lines, including “An investment banker started something so I broke his neck,” from his single, "We’re All Stuck Out in the Desert", which seemed particularly apt for the audience.

He may look about eighteen, but he's already supprted REM, played the part of Roy Orbison in Walk The Line, and dates Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. He supports Matt Costa at the Bowery Ballroom tomorrow (Monday).