CALGARY -- It never fails. And she never fails.

On the past couple of occasions Jann Arden came through her hometown on tour, I've entered the auditorium tired, crabby -- hey, I ain't always Johnny Sunshine -- and, frankly, not entirely in the mood for her tasteful brand of adult-contemporary heartache pop.

Last night, in front of a sold-out Jubilee crowd, the result was exactly the same.

Arden blew away all of those bad vibes with a refreshing, easygoing evening of stories and song.

Such a natural, likeable entertainer and person is she, that it's impossible to walk out of one of her performances anything less than uplifted or utterly in love with her.

Sure, part of that is her sense of humour and the lenghty between-song tangents she goes on, such as an early one last night in which she promised that her family would join her later on stage for a tribute to Leahy. Asides aside, the musical part of the evening was also pure joy.

Her songs, thanks in part to her backup band's energy and skill, breath more, seem more organic and more vital. Old and new material -- songs such as Waiting in Canada, and Four Feet Deep, which is from her latest release Love is the Only Soldier -- were infused with a little more life and meaning.

In fact, you could say that's what an Arden show never fails to do to anyone who walks through the door -- no matter how crabby they might have been.

Anyone familiar with opening act Emm Gryner and her career can attest to the the young Canadian singer-songwriter's talent. Yet, for some reason, on this night, Gryner gave a reserved, fairly flat half-hour solo set and only really sparked up and made an impression when she closed with her version of Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me.