Graham Colton performs at Schuba’s in Chicago. Photo by Laura Danforth.

I did not expect to like Graham Colton. Up until Friday night’s show in Chicago, I could not name for you even one of his songs. I was unimpressed with him looking at his website; he seemed like just another pretty boy singer in touch with his emotions. I had been convinced to buy a ticket for his sold out show at Schuba’s Tavern by a friend during the throes of Wildcat Welcome, when November seemed so very far away. The singer-songwriter ditched his band to play an intimate set, alone with his acoustic guitar, to a relatively small room; upon arriving fifteen minutes early for the opening act I ended up in the second row.

As he came onstage, frankly, I expected to come away from the night thinking he was far less interesting than his opener, Chicago based artist Dick Prall. The latter wowed a crowd anxious for the headlining act with a mean electric fiddle and rocking acoustic songs. At one point his violinist, Chad Gifford, was playing so violently I thought his bow would catch on fire. Both Prall and Gifford jested with the crowd, and took the heckling from the front row drunken Graham fangirls with a smile. “You have Michigan Tourette’s — you just keep saying Michigan,” Gifford told a particularly loud fan in the front of the crowd.

The pair asked for audience participation for multiple songs, keeping the somewhat distractible crowd engaged. I was impressed that his songs had guitar parts complicated enough to require him to actually look at the instrument once or twice. Prall also showed off his fairly talented whistling skills, carrying a tune along with the violin as well as he sang. I was almost sad when they played their last song and vacated the stage for the headlining act.

He came onstage with no introduction, but simply launched into his first song. Until he picked up the guitar, I thought he was going to be the man that announced Graham Colton, not the man himself.

What I did not realize, prior to the end of that first song, was that Graham Colton radiates charisma. The man could have probably puked on the stage and the crowd would have thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. He is the type of artist I had never before seen live — the kind that can effortlessly convince you to take off your pants with just a guitar.

In his “oh shucks, are you all here for me?” modesty, throughout the entire show he managed to maintain an attitude of immense gratitude for as much as being allowed onstage. The minute he flashed his boy-next-door smile, every woman in the room (and probably ¾ of the men) wanted to bear his children. Many weren’t shy about letting him know it. The man checks his own Facebook, after all, and had mentioned his mother at least once between songs.

He played an energetic set, during which he introduced songs from his new EP, “Twenty Something,” as well as diverged from the set list to take audience requests and songs requested via his Facebook. Old fan favorites emerged among the newer material: some songs so old he could not even remember all their lyrics. At one point he had to stop mid-song to be prompted by an audience member. He bore the mess-up with grace, though, managing to make the song flow regardless.

The best parts of his performance were when he seamlessly broke from his own songs, launching into an interlude of a cover instead. When he did this with Oasis’s “Champagne Supernova” it fit so well in his sound that it was barely noticeable. However, when he launched into a spontaneous rendition of “Party in the U.S.A.” the crowd went wild. I’ve never liked that song so much in my life as when it became an acoustic rock ballad.

Toward the end of his set, someone from the crowd reached up to offer him a shot glass, which he took in good humor. He declined to play an encore, citing the small venue — there was nowhere for him to hide while he pretended to be done with his set. Instead, after the show, he signed CDs for fans and took pictures, working the crowd from the merch table. “Are you wearing Angel perfume?” he asked one woman as they took a picture together. After that, will she ever not be wearing Angel perfume?

Even now, listening to his album online, the effect just isn’t the same. Colton is at his finest in person. While his songs can sound like pop artifice in the recorded version, live he shows what personal songwriting can be at its best.