"HELLO Beardcastle," said Beards frontman Johann Beardraven as he greeted a packed and very hairy Cambridge Hotel last week.
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And the charismatic singer was certainly right.
For it appeared like every bearded man in the Hunter Valley had descended on the Newcastle West pub.
There were beards Ned Kelly would have been proud of, hipster beards, fake beards and some girls have even created their own by tying together their pig tails under their chin.
So your trusty reviewer felt quite inadequate fronting up with mere stubble.
Before the Beards hit the stage, the audience was warmed up by punk bluegrass band Little Bastard.
With a mix of guitars and banjo thrashing out a frenetic rhythm, the seven-piece traded vocals duties throughout the set.
Highlights included a cover of the Beatles song The Night Before.
Newcastle was the third-last show of the Beards' first world tour, including the US, Canada, UK and Europe, and their performance benefited from the long stint on the road.
From the opening chords of No Beard, No Good and This Beard Stays the crowd was singing with boisterous abandon, and like any novelty band, presentation and stage performance is essential to the Beards' appeal.
Throughout the show Beardraven and bassist Nathaniel Beard allowed fans to stroke their beards.
A Beards concert is one of the few places you'll see big-bearded bikie dudes running their fingers through another man's facial hair. The Beards call it beard love.
Despite all the posing and comic lyrics, the Beards live experience is such a rollicking good time because the band is tight and the songs are incredibly melodic.
The repertoire ranged from folk, rock, even to blues when lead guitarist Facey McStubblington took vocal duties on a blistering version of My Baby Left Me For a Man Without a Beard.
A couple of new songs were also showcased, including I'm Just Stroking My Beard about the wonders of being unemployed with a beard.
The Beards saved their most loved songs until the end when they launched into You Should Consider Having Sex With a Bearded Man, which was sang by a shirtless Beardraven.
Then in the encore the Adelaide band ripped through the AC/DC influenced I'm in the Mood for Beards and If Your Dad Doesn't Have a Beard, You've Got Two Mums.
Then it was goodnight for a very happy Beardcastle.
