“Dan Sultan is a cool guy.”

That was the overwhelming thought throughout the entirety of his set at Zierholtz last Thursday night. He packed the bar and rocked an hour and a half set blending a mix of the old and loved songs, and some of the new – with an album out in a few months. Dan’s stop in Canberra is the second on his Under your Skin tour to promote his most recent works in the lead-up to its release.

This will be his third album release since starting performing music in 1996. He has been a Triple J feature artist, won Australian Independent Record Awards as well as 2 ARIA’s in 2010 – one of which being ‘Best Male Artist’.

Dan’s style is self-described as ‘Country-Soul-Rock-n-Roll’ and it was really great to watch a properly talented rocker and singer churning out one hit after another and burning up the stage with an impressive collection of songs. Coupled with the occasional brain-melting solo it felt like a rock gig from the 1970s, with a bluesy, old-school feel. This feels appropriate as Sultan and crew recently have come off being the support act for ‘The Boss’, Bruce Springsteen, during his recent Aussie tour.

The vibe in the bar was electric; the fans had pushed their way up to within an arms reach of the stage. There was a genuine excitement in the air and the crowd were absolutely loving and lapping up the gig, after some songs there were roaring screams and applause and cheers that were definitely contagious. Even, My Kitchen Rules cast-offs Andrew and Emelia were front-and-centre in the mosh and were happily voicing their approval. It was also great to see, as a regular on the ABC music quiz show Spicks and Specks, Dan keeping the crowd engaged and laughing during the set courtesy of his infectious personality.

The whole night felt like modern era rock and roll with a touch of nostalgia. The fans in attendance were both old and young, all out to see what a lot of people would call ‘real’ music. It was the best atmosphere I’ve seen at a gig in a long time, and the bar has been set for live gigs in Canberra this year.

I’ll say it again, Dan Sultan is cool. I want to buy him a beer, but I’ll settle for his new album.