At 30 quid a pop, there is no doubt that the packed in punters are here for one thing and one thing only – to see Mark Lanegan. Only, it is the Mark Lanegan band that steal the show. Now there’s a Black Friday offer to soothe the soul.

Although the audience is largely constituted of seeming Screaming Trees fans, here to see the age-old grunger still going strong, the real power tonight lies in the band’s quality.

Lanegan surveys the crowd centre stage with his flanking gargoyles. They stand sentinel in the form of lead guitarist – a man who knows how to wear a hat – Jeff Fielder and backing vocalist, Shelley Brien.

Having released a veritable conveyer-belt of music for the past three decades, Lanegan looks energised by the presence of wife Brien onstage. He even kisses her after she reprises the PJ Harvey role on a series of smoking numbers featuring the matchless Hit the City.

Yet, on this the second night in Antwerp’s Trix and ahead of a long tour still to come, Lanegan is hardly box office. But, then he has never tried to be. The only reason we are all here is to hear those lupine tonsils of this failed drummer turned master-vocalist.

Indeed, Lanegan’s raised his own stock as a lyricist by releasing a book entitled I am the Wolf. Out now, it is a slightly strange piece of publicity for a man who comes across as the philosopher of the darkness without having to put a £20 Amazon price tag on it. Still, there’s a stocking filler to go with your QOTSA Christmas jumper.

Anyway, that’s another four weeks away. Back to tonight, Lanegan makes a fairly token gesture to the new material, launching into a troika of Emperpor, Nocturne and Goodbye to Beauty early in the night.

Nocturne has the grinding juggernaut rhythm that has been the bedrock of solo-Lanegan’s best tunes to date. Meanwhile, Emperpor has the lilting upbeat sing-along simplicity that has made Mark into a warmer beast than his scarier past.

Goodbye to Beauty is heartbreakingly tender. The three songs together reflect the variety and emotional punch that sets the tone for the rest of the evening.

It is the slower, synth powered dance numbers like Ode to Sad Disco and Floor of the Ocean that transcend Lanegan’s image to kick the night into Goth-grunge gear. You’ll need your eye-liner and glitter for this show. While they used to mosh, it is now time to dance. But I don’t think Bowie would get this crowd moving.

Bubblegum still features strongly above and beyond material from previous tour, Phantom Radio, but it is to Blues Funeral that Lanegan looks most. Sadly, Gray Goes Black does not get an airing, but Harbourview Hospital and the, well, riotous, Riot in my House stand strong.

One Hundred Days is still the set highlight. It drifts past on its elegant stride with the enigmatic beauty of a real modern classic. Lanegan at his absolute best.

Mind you, the new stuff on Gargoyle has received rave reviews. Perhaps the best of Lanegan is yet to come. Trying to put together a Greatest Hits package would be an editorial nightmare for a career that has spanned countless collaborations and guest slots.

Fortunately, Lanegan only ever looks forwards. Ending on two Joy Division covers, Atmosphere and Love Will Tear Us Apart, much to the shock and joy of the perplexed crowd, perhaps he reveals a flavour of things to come for a man never afraid to search out something new.

From grunge to dance, folk to metal, Lanegan has never shied away from taking a plunge. Three years might be a long wait for new songs, but he’s never gone for long.