TORONTO - Rox Sexsmith sure has a lot of friends.

And it seemed as if all of them -- including Gordon Lightfoot and Andy Kim -- were at a nearly sold out Massey Hall on Saturday for Sexsmith's debut at the venerable venue.

It has long been Sexsmith's dream to do a concert at Massey, but for years he resisted playing there as an opening act, because the 42-year-old wanted to be famous enough to be a headliner.

Thus, it had the feel of a private party on Saturday as virtually everyone was rooting for the critically acclaimed but commercially challenged Sexsmith.

"Welcome home," someone shouted after Sexsmith took the stage to a standing ovation. "I never left," Sexsmith replied.

Actually, the standing ovation for Sexsmith was not the first of the evening. That honour went to Lightfoot.

Referring to Massey as "The House of Gord," Sexsmith told a story before he played the Lightfoot song Drifters.

"I was awakened by Gordon Lightfoot in my bedroom the other day -- he wasn't there, he called me on the phone," Sexsmith said. "Gord told me, 'If you're going to play that song of mine, could you pick up the tempo a bit?'"

Whispered wishes among patrons that Lightfoot might perform a duet with Sexsmith went unfulfilled. But Kim joined Sexsmith for the Kim hit, How'd We Ever Get This Way?

Sexsmith clearly was nervous early in the show. But instead of soiling himself he utilized self-deprecating humour.

Backed by a stellar four-piece band, Sexsmith moved from guitar to piano and back again, with highlights including Keep It In Mind, There's A Rhythm and Gold In Them Hills. Prior to the jazzy Foolproof, Sexsmith announced, "I'm going to get all Buble on your ass," a reference to crooner Michael Buble.

Sexsmith, who has a new CD coming out next month, arguably could have cut three or four songs from his lengthy set list. And the encore was a bit of a puzzle, too.

After Secret Heart and Former Glory, Sexsmith said he just realized he hadn't played many songs from his second CD. He then performed Thinking Out Loud -- a nice enough song, but hardly "closer" material -- and was gone in a flash (it's too bad he didn't play In A Flash, which is one of his better tunes).

An aura of unfinished business notwithstanding, Sexsmith delivered on the night he had been dreaming about.

"I hope I haven't let the building down," he said.

Really, how can you not cheer for someone like that?

Counted among Sexsmith's friends was the lively Kathleen Edwards, who provided support not only as an opening act but as an enforcer. Edwards threatened fans with physical harm if they weren't a "good audience" for Sexsmith.

She needn't have worried. Friends stick together.