It's a funny kind of fame, that Belle and Sebastian have become most well known for the faceless, reclusive image they've contrived for themselves, rather than for any of their songs. Be it through their own desire for privacy or a lack of faith in the industry - and who could blame them for either - the popularity they have amassed in the last year or so despite their self-imposed isolation must be a surprise for all. In the face of an ever more consumer-orientated world this is a glowing affirmation of their unorthodox whims and tactics.

And so it is, post Brit award and almost top-ten album, that they can continue to play the game their own way. The Gentle Waves, for that is the name printed on the tickets and on the lovingly prepared program found resting on every seat as we enter the theatre, could on most days be mistaken for their parent band without blame. Lined up on the small stage are several of the full Belle & Sebastian complement. This though, is Isobel Campbell's plaything, and it is she who takes centre stage with guitar and mic, while usual main-man Stuart Murdoch shies off to her right to provide occasional support on bass.

The Gentle Waves appears, to all intents and purposes, to be Isobel's personal muse. This first gig of their short Easter tour is about as intimate as public concerts get, and is put together and performed with the minimum of fuss. Around two hundred of the Belle and Sebastian faithful have turned up to see their heroes play. Indeed, word of The Gentle Waves' existence can have spread little wider than that select circle. As support, rather than inviting another band along, she has chosen to show a couple of short, old, French films, and it's none other than Stuart himself who ambles out to start up the projector before taking a seat in the back row to watch.

The first of these, "Les Pistons" is an occasionally stark tale of a group of young boys and their first bitter encounter with love and the unobtainable. The second, the multi award winning (in its day) "The Red Balloon", is a loveable story of a lonely young boy who befriends a magical balloon, only to then suffer the envy and wrath of the other children. Both are simple and affecting, with a similar human thread to that which runs through many of Stuart's and Isobel's songs.

Cheers and applause greet the band when they take to the stage, but she can only cast a nervous smile back while the band mill around their instruments before the first number. Softly picked acoustic guitar begins a string of delicate folky pop songs, mostly lifted from "The Green Fields of Foreverland" album with a few new tunes thrown into the set. As in evidence on Belle and Sebastian records, Isobel's voice is soft and tuneful, wavering almost to a whisper at some moments but strangely suited to the hushed, fragile mood that has settled over the performance. Throughout the show a trumpet, French horn, flute, piano and keyboards and the occasional use of a xylophone provide sweet, tinkling embellishment to the songs and the prevailing mood is warm and cosy. The gentle folk beginnings enjoy a gradual rise to full-on pop pomp at some peaks and affecting sentiment at others.

Characteristic of first gigs it appears quite an impromptu performance. Good spirits are maintained with a little banter and Isobel begins to come out of her shell as the set progresses. The few hitches that occur are taken in stride with smiles and flushed apologies, and seem almost to make up part of the personality of the group. There's a short delay while guitarist Stevie Jackson is reminded of the rhythm of one song by air-guitar miming from Isobel, and another unscheduled pause while a quick search is made for the missing string to the triangle - it finally turning up in a hidden corner of the stage. The songs themselves are played without a hitch and it seems the band are having as much fun as the crowd. Sadly the lively fuzz of the limited single 'Weathershow' is omitted, despite shouted requests for "the rocky one". "People said they didn't like it," Isobel offers as the excuse, but as an alternative 'Kinky Love' is unfurled with a blush and "My mum's going to kill me when she hears this one" in its place.

The short set is soon over and the band's exit is followed by cheers and calls for an encore. That's not their style though, and by the time the theatre is empty, Isobel and friends have probably retreated to a quiet Leeds city centre pub - if any there be - tucked up in the warmth away from the prying crowds. There, no doubt, friends will chatter and new stories will be spun and passed around, perhaps one day to be shared with a friendly fanbase, carried on a gentle strum and a quiet but lively melody. Fame doesn't have to change you if you don't let it.

Dan Darling