Ingrid Michaelson added an unexpected stop to the North American branch of her “Lights Out” tour early on this fall at University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Union.

Word of the show spread rapidly across Madison, and the show sold out almost immediately, making for a packed house last Friday night. The indie singer-songwriter and platinum-selling recording artist took the stage at Shannon Hall for a stripped-down performance. Despite the unadorned and unvarnished nature of the show, it was nothing less than incredible.

Though Michaelson’s vocals sound beautiful on all her albums, recordings do not even begin to convey just how beautiful her vocals truly are. Echoing through the venue, Michaelson’s voice took on a more defined and radiant tone than it seems to on her records. Her vocals also exhibited a magnificent sense of control that — though present in her studio work — could be more readily identified and appreciated in her live show, allowing audiences to grasp how talented of a vocalist Michaelson is.

The stripped nature of the show — using all acoustic instruments and, at times, minimal instruments, further complemented Michaelson’s vocals, as it made them the center of attention and the focus of the show.

Michaelson played through her classic ballads, as well as a section from her new album. Three band members accompanied her, who played acoustic guitar, bass and piano. Regardless of the presence of a backing band, Michaelson herself still played her own instruments, shifting back and forth between ukulele and keyboards.

Some numbers of the set were stripped down even further, leaving Michaelson and her ukulele on stage alone. One number was even sung acapella, as Michaelson’s band put down their instruments and joined her at the microphone to sing beautifully executed four-part harmonies.

Though I did expect Michaelson to put on a quality musical performance, I did not expect her to put on a one-woman comedy show. Nonetheless, that is exactly what she did. In fact, Michaelson was funnier than most stand-up comedians – making audience members, including myself, laugh until our stomachs hurt.

With a flare of personality and an improvisational wittiness, Michaelson played off the audience, using their every word of commentary and their every reaction to fire back humor-fueled rants, jokes and remarks. In doing so, she transformed a venue of 1,655 filled seats into what felt like a small-scale living room: highly intimate and perfect for a one-on-one conversation.

As the show came to an end, Michaelson stepped up the intimacy a notch, bringing about 20 audience members to the stage to sing her encore song, “Afterlife,” with her. As Michaelson, her band and the handful of selected audience members danced around the stage, the remainder of the crowd jumped to their feet, ran down the aisle and flocked to the foot of the stage – wrapping the show with a bang and officially blurring the line between where the stage ends and crowd begins.