Adelaideans of a certain age will have been following Charles Jenkins' career for nearly forty years now.

 From his earliest efforts with the Mad Turks From Istanbul, through his years with the Ice Cream Hands and his time as the leader of Charles Jenkins & The Zhivagos, he has always been able to compose a sweet tune and write a wry and clever lyric.

 He has spent much of his career on the periphery of success without ever quite catching the break that should have seen him earn the greater plaudits he deserves.

 After many years of living in his adopted city of Melbourne he seems to have become content with his position in the fickle world of popular music. Now he passes on the tricks of his trade to keen students in his songwriting classes.

 So it was a disarmingly relaxed Charles Jenkins who took to the stage at The Jade on Friday night.

 He was happy to sing a song about his 88 year-old mother - who lives in Marden - sinking a few too many proseccos at the Alma Hotel, and this came straight after he unveiled a new song called ‘The Opening Night Of The Fringe’, which now claims the mantle of being the most ‘of the minute’ song I have ever heard performed live!

 Sure, neither of these would be the songs that would get Jenkins' name in the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, but for tonight’s appreciative audience they proved to be endearing new additions to his already extensive repertoire.

 Opening the show with ‘Barkly Square’, from his 2017 album, The Last Polaroid, was a smart move as it immediately reminded us all how his songs are rich in wordplay and in the deftly evocative use of geographical references. He kindly drew local parallels with the Victorian locations mentioned in his songs to help us all understand their desired meaning and context.

 Compared to previous shows of his that I have attended, the songlist for this performance focussed much more heavily upon the humorous side of his writing, especially in self-deprecating numbers such as ‘Fairfield In The Rain’, ‘Hate Mail’ and  ‘Pray My Dear Daughter’ where he begs his offspring never to marry a musician.

 Throw in a crowd pleasing Presley pastiche written especially for the opening sequence of 'Elvis’s next film', and a laugh out loud tune called ‘Victoria Market’, a jaunty little number about duping one’s snobbishly clueless partner by buying cheap knock-offs in lieu of the more expensive items they desire, and you can sense what sort of atmosphere Jenkins was aiming to create on the night.

 Of course, there were some more serious gems dispersed throughout the show. Jenkins has one of the purest pop voices in Australia and he sang the lovely ‘Walk This Ocean’ and the delicate ‘Trees Of Brisbane’ quite exquisitely.

 Half of the songs were performed with the aid of some moodily affective guitar from Art Starr – direct from Port Willunga – who had persuasively insisted that they also include a Tom Waits cover. The choice of the lesser-known Waits piece, ‘Picture In A Frame’, from Mule Variations, subsequently proved to be an unexpected delight.

 In the latter part of the show, Jenkins revealed the real secret to songwriting was simply to crash out on the couch in front of the World Movies channel and simply put the subtitles to music, and we were given a clever example of this process – ‘Off The Tip Of The Peloponnese’ which had originally surfaced on his 2014 water themed album, Too Much Water In The Boat.

 It was sad to find there was no room for some of the Mad Turks or Ice Cream Hands best tunes in the mix, but I was glad he found room in the set for two of my personal favourites, ‘Shelley Winters’, and ‘Saved!’ which both went down very well with the audience.

 Then, after having us all loudly extol the joys of petticoat wearing as we sang the chorus of ‘Seven Creeks’, there was a final, rousing rendition of ‘I Went To The Chapel’ and the show was over, bar, of course, the raucous applause and the satisfied hum of people buzzing from having a great night out as they headed for the exits.

 If you missed seeing Charles Jenkins this time around, or have not yet had him turn up on your online playlists, there are nearly four decades worth of recordings out there to discover and enjoy. His Bandcamp page would be a great place to start. Make the effort, you’ll be glad you did.