As he took the stage shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night, Joseph Arthur searched for sharpened pencils and clean paintbrushes to begin his set.

"Where's my broom?" he asked.

"Just use your sock!" a fan close to the stage shouted. To which Arthur replied, "I don't want to use my sock. Come on! This is a professional show. What should we play?"

One fan suggested he'd play "Dear Lord." 

"I don't remember that one," Arthur answered. "I've written a lot of songs over the years."

Another fan came in helpful and said he had the song on his iPod. 

"Why don't we play it on your iPod and dance?" Arthur suggested.  "Who's to say we have to follow a certain code?"

And so began his second performance of the night at Maxwell's. Complete with fulfilled song requests, onstage banter and painting, Arthur proved he is much more than the typical singer-songwriter.

Once the pencils were found and sharpened, he took to his easel to sketch and outline a design he would later finish during his last song onstage.

Arthur's emotion-filled ballads and descriptive lyrics hushed the audience at times, while his continuous dialogue with fans proved to liven up the night. The one-man band and artist used multiple loop pedals to combine acoustic and electric guitar, harmonica, drums and vocals on many tracks performed throughout his set.

"It's the romantic part," Arthur said after he finished first song, "All the Old Heroes." While tuning his guitar he chatted with the audience. "Sometimes a guitar that's out of tune is better than one in tune because it pulls on your heartstrings. This one's out of tune. Can you feel the tug?" he asked as he began the intro to "A Smile That Explodes."

With delicate finger picking and his deep vocals, Arthur struck a chord. He proceeded to alternate between acoustic and electric guitar throughout the track, creating layered textures during his performance.

While the one-man band impressed with looping musical elements, Arthur made the greatest impact when it was just him and the mic and acoustic guitar. Whether he read a poem to the audience mid-song or joked about his dentist, (he even invented a jingle for Colgate on the spot), his set offered much diversity and captivated the packed room. 

At complete ease onstage, Arthur continuously switched things up throughout the night. "Even Tho" showcased a higher vocal range for Arthur which, the crowd received well. He even tossed the mic to an energetic fan in the front row to close the song.

Impassioned tracks like "Donated Myself to the Mexican Army" recalled Bob Dylan while the beautiful love ballad "Honey In the Moon" touched the listener. Alone on acoustic guitar, Arthur warned the crowd that it's a quiet song.

"Remember when we first met and everything was still a bet in love's game/You would call; I'd call you back and then I'd leave a message on your answering machine/But right now everything is turning blue/And right now the sun is trying to kill the moon/And right now I wish I could follow you/To the shores of freedom, where no one lives," he sang passionately.

Throughout his set, Arthur could be seen staring at the easel placed center stage, as if he was envisioning what he would draw next. He didn't pick up his pencil or brush, though until his very last song onstage, "Crying Like a Man." The last track of the night began atmospherically with looped percussion and guitar accompaniment. Once he finished looping the parts he needed, he took his microphone and finished his painting while he sang, for everyone to watch.

After he walked off the stage, fans began chanting "one more song." A few minutes later, the first chord of "In the Sun" could be heard in the back of the room by his merch table. Three songs later, Arthur ended his set to content fans that sang along as he proceeded to sign autographs and take photos well after midnight.