The singer-songwriter kicked off his latest U.S. trek not with his guitar in hand but with a tube of paint, and he created his own backdrop of abstract art on a white piece of canvas hanging against the stage wall.

After some minor technical difficulties, which Arthur dismissed as tour-opening glitches, the lanky troubadour launched into a new song, "Paints Me Gold," that sounded like a lost Young classic. It's that mix of familiarity and originality that makes Arthur such a remarkable talent. His songs have echoes of other great performers -- from Bob Dylan to Beck and Billy Corgan -- but he's not quite like anyone else.

The Akron, Ohio, native was discovered in the mid-1990s by Peter Gabriel, who signed him to his Real World label. Since then, Arthur has released four full albums -- each one better than the last -- on three labels in the United States. He remains largely a cult figure whose biggest brushes with mainstream success are the inclusion of his songs on the "Shrek 2" and "The O.C." soundtracks and a recent stint opening for R.E.M. on its European tour.

At the Troubadour, with an area rug full of pedals and a rack loaded with effects gear, Arthur was truly a one-man band. He created his own rhythm tracks and backing vocals with delays and loops and transformed the sound of his acoustic guitar into a fuzzed-out electric. With Christmas lights hanging off his mike stands adding atmosphere, Arthur took his fans through a 90-minute set featuring songs from his recent Vector Recordings set, "Our Shadows Will Remain," some older favorites and new material he's working on for his next album.

With themes of freedom, redemption and desperation, Arthur proved he's no mere one-trick pony, moving from the celebratory "Echo Park" to the vitriolic "Birthday Card." Two of his finest songs, "In the Sun" and "Can't Exist," performed back-to-back, sounded like covers of recently unearthed '70s gems.

Not content to just create aural art, Arthur put down his guitar a few times during the set to continue his work-in-progress on the backdrop, each time picking up a new color to add to the mix. In the set-closing "You've Been Loved," which Arthur sang in a striking falsetto, he returned to the canvas again as his voice played on, and scrawled, "Goodnight and God bless." In a music world filled with cliched stage patter and sendoffs, it was a classy and inventive move.

Arthur returned for an encore that began with the timely folk protest song "I Donated Myself to the Mexican Army," which drove home the point that he's a talent who should be seen and heard by a larger audience.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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