At times, an Eddie Vedder concert feels like a beautiful poetry reading accompanied by a ukelele, while at other times, it is more like an intimate pub gig as he strums his guitar and recounts funny anecdotes.
"We had the Big Day Out, now it's the nice night in. Or the long night in - it could be," Vedder told the cheering crowd in Perth as he began his Australian tour on Friday night.
The Pearl Jam frontman commands attention with his natural charisma and was given a standing ovation as soon as he stepped on stage.
He opened with the Cat Stevens song, Trouble, before launching into his own songs, Pearl Jam hits and other covers for the next two hours.
Favourites included The End, I'll Be Sleeping By Myself, Far Behind, Unthought Known, Guaranteed, Porch, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, and the Cat Power song Good Woman.
He messed up a couple of lines during the night but was honest enough to have a chuckle about it, which endeared him even more to the audience.
The stage was set up like a lounge room, with a changing backdrop that included city buildings and a campfire with a "wicked fire pit".
"It took quite a lot to get that through customs," Vedder quipped.
Early on, he singled out a seven-year-old boy at the front and referred to himself as "Uncle Ed" and then later made up a song on the spot for the youngster singing: "It's an honour to sing for Connor."
Vedder joked he preferred to stay in Australia rather than go back to the cold in the US, but his love for Australia has never been a secret.
"You give me the excuse to stay in one of the more beautiful parts of the world," he said with sincerity.
The American singer/songwriter also relayed several stories including getting his nails done before the show so he could play the guitar and ukelele.
He said he was in a "vulnerable position" when a fan asked for a photograph with him.
"I wanted to say 'I'm getting my tools repaired'," he said.
He then joked he should have asked if he could get a photograph with her when she was waxing - a surfboard, he cheekily added.
Vedder also took the opportunity to pay tribute to Pete Seeger and remembered Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
He told a story about a play in which Hoffman and John C Reilly played brothers who in one scene break a typewriter.
Vedder, who still writes songs on a typewriter, joked that he wanted to "save the typewriter" but later sent the actors one of his typewriters to smash in his honour, which they did.
"I'm damn sorry I won't be seeing him (Hoffman) again."
Earlier, Irishman Glen Hansard warmed up the crowd and even took requests.
He relayed the unusual story of how he and Vedder met when the Pearl Jam frontman tracked down his phone number to ask how he was after someone died at his concert.
Hansard returned to the stage to perform a few songs with Vedder too.
Vedder ended the show with a cover of the Amanda Palmer song, Ukelele Anthem, and his version of Hard Sun, which brought everyone to their feet again.
With men and women screaming his name and calling him a legend, it is safe to say that Vedder will be welcome back to Australia any time he wants.
* Vedder will also play in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
