As I arrive the room’s filling and Diafrix are kicking out some nice summertime beats and rhymes a la Michael Franti. Last time I saw Diafrix do a support slot in this venue, they tore the roof of the joint and took most of the crowd with them when they left. Somehow, I don’t think that’s likely this time around. Many fans are banked at the stage but they’re not about to tap into their energy reserves just yet. They’re gonna wait ‘til their boy from Sassafras comes on, thank you very much.

Diafrix’s two MCs – Azmarino and Momo- work their crowd like champions, flirting and cajoling until shoulders start moving, heads start bobbing and guitar solos look to convince this crowd that we’re all on the same side. Dancehall dub with a bit of “oo-whoa-oo-whoa-ooh-whoa” lifts the mood – and the bass – as the turntablists drops more scratch.

“Who likes hip hop?” cries an enthusiastic Momo. One hand goes up. He grins, roaring, “Seriously. Who likes hip hop?!” A third of the crowd dutifully raise their hands as though in history class. A beautifully dark move into epic, gangsta-fabulous hip-hop follows, Diafrix handling an awkward situation with great humour and performance.

By the time they roll out Crazy- a wickedly good track with a lighter template, punishing bass and lightning quick rhymes – Azmarino and Momo have achieved audience participation, each recruiting half the crowd for a bit of call and response. Finally, the switch has been flicked and the punters are charmed. Alas, it’s on the last song of the set.

Phrase arrives with a full band – cello, violin and guitar joined by bass, piano and drums – and fiancé and soul songbird Jade McCrae in tow. With his shaved dome, light trousers (how good to see a hip hop artist in pants that fit his arse), dark shirt and tattooed sleeve he looks like someone I’d be happy to introduce to my parents until he hollers, – œMake some fucken nooooooise!’

A keyboard melody sends Phrase from spoken word into full-blown hip-hop flight for TV N Radio, his passionate delivery making it almost impossible for him to stay seated. Jade opens up Clockwork with an a cappella refrain from The Windmills of Your Mind – which Phrase sampled for the track – before she takes centre stage to test run one of her own new songs. He sheepishly picks up a tambourine while his lady has the audience eating out of her petite hand; they then trade verses in equal dynamic.

The couple are particularly good on Burn It Down, which kicks out the massive, fabulous sound of hip hop backed expertly by a really smokin’ band. They peak on their last number, Phrase’s latest single Spaceship, which has a Stevie Wonder-esque bass line and is simply addictive; especially the rhythm section. The band jam on the song as Jade and Phrase head backstage and I’m not surprised. They’ve really hit a great stride.

Half an hour later, the lights are back down and Daniel’s band start to populate the stage. As soon as the volume on the house speakers drops, the packed room loses its shit completely. Daniel follows his band onstage, everyone dressed sharply for a soul gig: suits, vests, hats, backing vocalists in little black dresses.

Mr Merriweather skips first and second gears going straight in on For Your Money. I immediately remember an interview I did with Danny Goldberg (manager of Nirvana) where he told me his favourite artists are not from this planet. It’s an inexplicable phenomena, the birth of an artistic talent, that happens somewhere in the cosmos. Or, strangely enough, in the hills behind Dandenong.

By his second number Daniel is well and truly off the chain – no doubt buoyed by his love of his hometown crowd – laying an unrestrained voice, at once angelic and gravelly, over a lush bedrock of music.

When the familiar melody of Change starts up all the ladies in the room do a little squeal, he flashes a cheeky grin, Jerry Lee Lewis hair flopping in his eyes and I whisper to myself in a tiny voice, I love him.

Phrase pops up to take on the verse that Wale originally contributed to the song and the tiny voice is back: this is fucking perfect. Is it the face of Australian’s young music? Although I am now greedy to hear Daniel, Phrase and Jade all do something together, one of Daniel’s backing vocalists takes on Adele’s female duet part in the devastating Water and A Flame and all the women in the audience echo her parts in unison. Gorgeous.

His cover of The White Stripes’ You Don’t Know What Love Is is a more upbeat soul/rock exploration but it’s down to the murky depths to pull out memories of a friend’s addiction on the next song; one in which Daniel’s despair comes through his vocal chords to pierce the heart of anyone listening.

The whole audience sings along for Giving Everything For Free allowing Daniel to indulge in free-form riffs, but not before he takes in his crowd singing his song back to him and remarks to his guitarist off-microphone, “This is amazing.”

The feeling is mutual on Cigarettes when at about the three-quarter mark there’s a beat of silence and Daniel opens up his lungs for an a cappella soul cry. Backed by every voice in the venue, it’s quite a moment.

Requesting that the audience master the – œtwo-step’ for Getting Out Daniel has the entire crowd undulating like an ocean before ripping out Stop Me, the Mark Ronson song that had The Smith’s fans up in arms and pushed Daniel’s star closer to orbit. Backing it up with the Ronson-produced Impossible the fluidity of the band is as impressive as Daniel’s histronics and they waltz him into a cover of Paul McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed before disappearing with Daniel for their encore.

Back on stage after the callback Daniel rolls out multiple octaves for his take on Cold Chisel’s Four Walls, but the show-stopper comes in the form of Red. Nearly reaching number one in the UK British singles charts it’s probably his best known track, and perhaps one that helped secure him a – œBest Male’ ARIA award last week. It’s a stellar ending to a brilliantly heartfelt show and when none other than Australian rock guru Michael Gudinski elbows me and yells, – œHow good is he?!’ I am uncharacteristically speechless.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE