I remember the first time I stumbled across Alec Benjamin on Spotify, a 30-year-old indie singer-songwriter from Arizona. A smart shuffle on a cold, windy day my freshman fall had dug up “Let Me Down Slowly” to match the emptiness of the cloudy gray skies. Oddly enough, I was hooked. It wasn’t so much that the song was slow and sorrowful, but that there was just the tiniest bit of hope to keep moving forward hidden away in Benjamin’s voice and forward-moving rhythms. The same hope hides away in each of his songs, especially those from his newest “12 Notes” album, which he brought to the San Francisco Masonic Auditorium on tour on Oct. 17.

Fans from the audience called “I love you, Alec!” wearing black hoodies emblematic of the attire Benjamin wears on his album covers, just purchased from the merch stalls outside the hall. The atmosphere was a different sort than I was used to at concerts: calm but somewhat stirring, reflective of the mellow tunes we were about to hear.

The audience burst out in screams as delicate piano notes emanated from the keyboard, bringing show opener Berkeley-native Matt Hansen onstage to deliver a powerful, eruptive pop performance. The singer shared a number of his singles, including his latest release “Someone to You,” and a cover of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls.

I always look forward to discovering hidden gems in the openers of every concert I attend, and I’m usually pleasantly surprised. Hansen went above and beyond my expectations, overwhelming me with brilliantly clear tone, vast range and a wondrous intuition for robust melodies. An unmistakable contrast to the lower, toned-down tunes of Alec Benjamin, Hansen was a fusion of Avicii and Coldplay, belting into the dark with a passion I’d never seen before live.

Benjamin soon walked onto the stage, reset to mimic the lamplit intimacy of a small apartment bedroom. He instantly smiled and blushed, flattered by the enthusiasm of the listeners in the hall.

The singer-songwriter jumped straight into his new album with “I Sent My Therapist to Therapy,” a complex song with rap-like verses and a signature conversation-style chorus. Myself and other audience members were eager to try and match our memories to the fast-paced lyrics, mouthing the words with as much speed as we could muster and laughing when we caught up at the title line.

After the hypnotically undulating “Different Kind of Beautiful,” Benjamin revisited an older album with his heartfelt “If We Have Each Other.” The song gave longtime fans a chance to delve into the past and rediscover the beauty in his music that harkens to the importance of relationships. The audience felt like one big family, singing “The world’s not perfect but it’s not that bad/If we have each other then we’ll both be fine” with complete sincerity, filling me with a security and comfort that is not often found in music today.

In an homage to his album titled “12 Notes,” Benjamin decided to write a few notes on stage between songs. The first he addressed “To San Francisco, I love you. ~ Alec,” followed by “To whoever called me ‘daddy,’… thanks… question mark?” illustrating his inherent inclination to avoid the outrageous and unconventional trends of artist-audience interactions of the times.

Many artists today have an affinity for the provocative and profane, a trend that both mirrors and is reflected by the trends of public behavior. Thus, it was more than refreshing and relieving to watch an artist with no intention of provoking, roasting, or outstepping the traditional boundaries of social norms in interaction with the crowd.

As Benjamin sang and switched between guitar and piano accompaniment, his humble and compassionate attitude grew endearing. From signing a fan’s t-shirt for the latter’s 11th birthday to addressing one of his songs to a former teacher who was in attendance, Benjamin was intent on making the audience an integral part of the show.

I was particularly excited for his hit “Outrunning Karma,” a song I’ve listened to time and time again on the windy days of winter. For his encore, Benjamin chose two of his strongest works: he sang the album title track “12 Notes” as a sort of love letter to San Francisco, and faded out with “Let Me Down Slowly” — an interesting choice for a closer with its melancholy lyrics but understandable as a perfect representation of Benjamin’s style.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.