Attempting to see Peter Doherty live comes not without its perils, none more worrying than his lack of appearance at shows for one illegitimate reason or another. Half the experience is geared towards taking a chance on a cancelled show, or next, a broken down set, more in keeping with a pissed up singalong down at your local.

But health permitting, and reliability aside, his live shows have the potential to reward - and affirm to all - the talent that first attracted the media furore that would go on to surround him.

Rescheduling tours again and again - to the point of absurdity - to make up for missed dates and disappointed fans, Doherty has remained in a kind of gig purgatory of late, endlessly putting things right for his faithful supporters. Yet with the show moving to the Liquid Room from the HMV Picturehouse at short notice it would have been foolhardy not to take caution in expecting the worst.

A gamble purchase maybe, the set that was to follow showed its return, as Peter performed in a stripped down solo light, one man and his acoustic, bringing to life his most celebrated songs from all manifestations of his career.

Coming on stage to a jeered up Liquid Room, bellowing out the "I Wish" Babyshambles chant, Pete ambled on, but as if merely passing on by, before taking centre stage and progressing into Libertines demo, "All At Sea", followed straight after by "Merry Go Down". Given that he had eased into the show with these it was something of a surprise that the next chord change moved quickly into "Can’t Stand Me Now", proving predictably popular with the crowd, with Doherty playing convincingly on his own, even making the harmonica parts possible with an attached neck holder.

From then on he showed no let up and strummed his way through, with no interlude, to a good ten or twelve more. Holding back the usual chit chat to let the songs do the talking, he harked back to the good old days, setting the sails of the good ship Albion once more on, "Hooligans on E", "What Katy Did", "The Boy Looked At Jonny" and "Don’t Look Back Into The Sun".

Reviving all manner of songs from The Libertines, Babyshambles and his own solo work, there was no shortage of material used. Seeming as if he was looking to put on a memorable experience for the responsive crowd, he picked largely the most celebrated of these, including from his Babyshambles days, "Sheepskin Tearaway", "Killamangiro", and "Beg, Steal or Borrow". Even drawing from Carl Barat’s song writing, he played "I Get Along", as well as "Music When The Lights Go Out". However sticking to what the crowd wanted to hear, the only new song thrown in came at the very end of the set as a taster of what might be install for the future.

The show too was not without its charm or spontaneity, as Peter’s charisma shone through even in his more controlled approach to the start of proceedings. On "For Lovers", two practically porcelain ballerinas came onto the stage, gracefully dancing their way around Peter, before coming back on for "What Katy Did", to cool him down with geisha fans. In between songs at one point he serenaded the crowd with a rose in his mouth, playing an impromptu fill of Spanish guitar.

Providing a real presence with his performance he held the crowd well. On the raucous "What A Waster", he succeeded in getting everyone to repeat the song’s offensive refrain over and over again, as he sung back “two bob…” in anticipation of the response. Mixing things up well, he kept the material from sounding out-dated, but instead reminded us of the songs' classic status, like in "Time For Heroes", where he showed his die hard dedication to QPR, changing one of the lines to: “there’s fewer more distressing sights than that of an Englishman in a Chelsea cap”.

The show’s atmosphere was to resemble more the heights of The Libertines guerrilla gigging than the setting of a rehashed tour. By the end of the night, stage invaders had been forcibly ejected, and one crowd member who made it away had even donned a token red military jacket for the occasion.

After returning to the stage following an impressive twenty-two songs, Peter then cemented the gig’s riotous finish with an encore that Liquid Room’s management would rather not have seen. Going well over his allotted time, Peter who was told not to return to stage, responded in the only  way he could, with a timely rendition of "Fuck Forever". After which he observed, “I probably won’t get paid for this”, before throwing his acoustic and mic stand into the crowd, momentarily putting the Liquid Room into lockdown before the bouncers broke up the party and reclaimed the crowds' spoils.

Snubbed by all too many as down and out, Doherty continues to confound his critics and defy popular belief just when you least expect it. In place of his often stumbling live solo performance, typically punctuated by the help of singer song writer friends, he came into his own, playing as tight as could be hoped for.
Although The Libertines may be over, Peter stuck one up on the night, and no matter how cataclysmic moments in his life may have been, he showed once more that he he’ll always come back and surprise you.