DCist was in the house last night as Graham Coxon, the man Stephen Street once called “the best guitarist on the planet,” brought his solo show to the Black Cat. We’ve had Graham’s latest solo offering, Happiness In Magazines, in heavy rotation in our iPod for quite a while. Much like the show last night, it’s full of clever lyrics, lo-fi Brit-Poppy goodness and some very impressive fret work.

The show ranged from sugary sweet pop numbers like No Good Time and Bittersweet Bundle of Misery to frenetic feedback-drenched tunes like his hit single Freakin’ Out as well as Life It Sucks, which sounded like a punkier (and better) version of The Vines. It was a bit strange to see Coxon front and center on stage playing the lead in his own band (on somewhat of a side note, his rhythm guitarist was a dead ringer for Tim from the UK version of the Office), as opposed to being stage right, in his own little world, hunched over playing the hits from his old band. But Coxon projected a loose, fun vibe in the room last night that carried over to the crowd. While not exactly the perfect frontman, he was engaging enough to hold his own and keep the crowd’s attention.

Regular Black Cat patrons might be happy to know that if last’s night insanely loud show was any indication, it appears that the club has fixed whatever sound problems they were having.

English buzz band the 22-20’s took the stage before Coxon and provided the crowd with some competent, straight-out-of-Detroit-style bluesy guitar rock. While it appears that they might be a little late on these shores to reap the rewards of the garage rock gravy train, it may work in their favor. Unlike other bands of that genre, they rely more on music than shtick to get their point across.