With an offbeat kind of crooning charm, Iron & Wine, aka Samuel Ervin Beam, played to a packed-out Brisbane crowd at The Princess Theatre on Monday night.
His distinctly-long silver beard makes him instantly recognisable, but it's his vocals that sear themselves into your soul.
With over a quarter of a century of a musical career under his belt, it's understandable that this man is comfortable in front of a crowd; and this crowd was ready to go with him wherever he went.
It was a strange sort of energy for a Monday night show (2 March) with revellers creating more of a Friday-night feel. Think raucous catcalls, some sloppy drinkers and thunderous applause at the end of each song, and the mood was weekend approved.
In fact, the singer himself seemed a little perplexed by it too, commenting: "How many of you have a job where if you f... up, people clap more?", and chuckling to himself every time the crowd got excited when he said he was about to play a new song.
Only recently landing in Australia after performing on CBS Mornings in the US only days before, Beam was candid and chatty onstage, sitting relaxed and being cheekily flippant as he talked between songs.
It was incredible to witness the ability of one man sitting on a stage, with one microphone and three guitars to make The Princess Theatre feel like it was playing host to a full band.
Is it because his presence is larger than life? Is it because his nostalgia-tinged tones fill the air around you? Is it because he seems both part of the actual music when playing and yet so accessible in between?
He's an artist who inspires such probing questions, because that's what his songs do to his listeners. His music asks you to stop and pause, to think and to feel, to reflect and remember and most importantly, to be grateful to be alive.
The stage lighting was perfection: a muted patina of shadows played across the backdrop and the iconic arched lights and heavy curtains created an old world theatre feel. Gentle downward beams of light created a focal point and created an intimate portrait of a man and his guitars.
With a mix of songs played from his vast discography, Iron & Wine performed every song to a remarkably-focused crowd because once he began to play, no one spoke or moved.
Included in the set list were songs from his just-released album 'Hen's Teeth', and he ended with fan favourites 'Call It Dreaming' and 'Flightless Bird, American Mouth' with support act Leah Senior joining him onstage for the last three songs before the encore.
He is a man who sings emotion into existence, his tone a doorway back into a gentler age of performing, something akin to a campfire storyteller crossed with a roving bard.
It could be said that when he sings, he invites you back home to the parts of yourself you had lost – and that is an unusual talent indeed.
