Joe Cocker at Villa Maria Estate Winery

The first Auckland Day on the Green may have meant a subdued arvo lounging about on a picnic blanket to the nostalgic tunes of Hammond Gamble and Midge Marsden.

But as dusk fell and Joe Cocker took the stage, it was clear everyone was here to make the most of the live music-vineyard experience.

As the crowd got on its feet and wine glasses were waved, there were times it felt like the Big Day Out for grown-ups.

But would the 63-year-old Sheffield singer with more than 20 albums and a reputation built largely on his interpretations of others music be on autopilot? Well anyone who can give a full-bellied scream like Cocker - and there were at least 10 throughout the set - commands respect.

From the early bluster of Feelin Alright through to his renditions of My Baby Wrote Me A Letter, When the Night Comes and Summer in the City, Cocker's vocal employed as much bluster and texture as a tenor sax in full flight.

While it was a performance that felt comfortable and familiar, it also reinforced the fact that Cocker is at his best singing other people's stuff - gritty versions of the Beatles' Come Together and Ray Charles' Unchain My Heart among them.

It also helped that his eight-piece band, including a formidable keyboardist, a bongo player/saxophonist and two big-voiced female backing singers, created a robust sound that filled the natural amphitheatre of the winery.

Although Cocker didn't say all that much between songs, his face said it all: intense concentration, absolute commitment to each song; even several metres from the stage, you could feel the brute force of his lungs working.

When he got really worked up, his hands would grasp at air pockets or play an invisible keyboard.

Yes, the set had its cheesy moments, such as Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong. But he salvaged his inner balladeer on a heartfelt You Are So Beautiful, with just piano and bass. He also included two new songs that, though unfamiliar, sat well within the rootsy soundscape of the covers.

Overall, the gig was a surefire crowd-pleaser that reached its peak on the sexy You Can Leave Your Hat On, a rousing finale of With A Little Help From My Friends and two deserved encores. As he left the stage he said he'd be back. He's more than welcome..