ENGLISHMAN Newton Faulkner is your classic pop-folk troubadour, armed with a secret weapon.
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While Faulkner's rhythmic acoustic guitar-playing is impressive and his versatile voice has the ability to navigate the trickiest of melodies, it's his command of the audience that sets him apart.
Tuesday nights in Newcastle are a difficult sell. But Faulkner fans are a devoted lot.
They packed into the Cambridge Hotel's warehouse on a balmy evening to see their lanky red-headed star perform his third show in Newcastle in as many years.
The frequency of the visits seems to have only strengthened Faulkner's bond with his audience.
Faulkner's previous Newcastle shows had been at Lizotte's, and while the Cambridge's warehouse lacked the sound and visual quality of the Lambton theatre, the crowded room amped up the intimacy.
It was stifling hot, particularly for Faulkner, who called for a towel to dry his hands which threatened to slip off the guitar fretboard.
"I'm not built for this," he said visibly sweating. "I'm built for the Scottish Highlands."
Townsville indie-folk singer-songwriter Greta Stanley opened the night, but her voice was difficult to hear over the hum of the industrial fan and talkative crowd.
The audience were far more attentive when Faulkner bounded onto the stage.
Usually gigs take several songs for fans to lock in. Not here though. From the opening song Smoked Ice Cream, Faulkner had the audience eating out of his hand.
So much so he'd already divided the audience into two sections to sing contrasting parts. If his music career ever stagnates, there's no doubting Faulkner could succeed as a traffic cop.
On Clouds he even split the crowd into four sections to create a cacophony of sound.
For those that witnessed Bob Dylan's performance at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre last year, Faulkner was the complete opposite.
Where Dylan rarely spoke to the crowd and performed as if oblivious to their presence, Faulkner engaged the audience. They were an instrument as much as his acoustic guitar and effects pedal.
People Should Smile More actually surpassed the recorded version thanks to the crowd singing along passionately, with smiles etched across their faces.
Ironically, Faulkner said the upbeat track from his 2007 album Hand Built By Robots is the "song I've gotten the most abuse for."
Faulkner explained he wrote People Should Smile More about the dangers of helping others after he offered to carry an elderly woman's bag at Gatwick Airport only to be slapped and interviewed by security.
There was also a preview of Faulkner's new direction towards a heavier and chunkier sound when he unveiled an unreleased track tentatively called Four Leaf Clover.
Later in the show there was a detour into a medley of tracks from Faulkner's My Moozik children's album he released earlier this year. While it all became a tad self-indulgent, the crowd didn't appear to mind.
Faulkner's modern classic Dream Catch Me then followed, starting as a murmur before building to a triumphant singalong.
To finish the evening Faulkner left jaws wide open with his fretwork on Queen's epic Bohemian Rhapsody. Bizarrely, the crowd barely sang. Rather they soaked up Faulkner's musical prowess on the complicated classic.
The crowd delivered respect and Faulkner certainly deserved it.
