Michael Bublé pulled out all the usual effects and devices to involve and entertain the near-capacity crowd Friday night at Scottrade Center.

Fireworks punctuated the end of the opening song, "All Of Me," and beach balls were thrown and confetti rained down on Bublé's dedicated fans later in the set.

Near the end of the concert, Bublé left the stage and strolled the length of the Arena floor to perform a trio of songs at a small, intimate stage - accompanied only by the vocalists of opening act Naturally 7 and guitarist Dino Meneghin.

And Bublé ended his trio of encore songs by pulling a classic move out of the Tony Bennett bag of vocal tricks — putting the microphone aside and singing the last verse of the Leon Russell classic "A Song For You" without amplification.

As it turned out, all of these extra touches really weren't needed. From the moment he took the stage until the final note of his encore, Michael Bublé turned in a crowd-pleasing performance that was memorable because of his combination of vocal talent, winning personality and genuine dedication and appreciation for his fans.

As you might expect for a guy who got his start crooning tunes Sinatra-style from the great American songbook, Bublé's fan base trends heavily female.

But the Canadian-born singer's ability to create a set list that runs from classics such as "Mack the Knife," "World On a String" and "You Don't Know Me" to ‘80s-era tunes like "At This moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters and his own contemporary pop hits like "Everything" and "Home," extends that fan base from grandmothers to devoted pre-teens.

Not all of Bublé's attempts to make a wide range of tunes work in the stylistic setting of a 13-piece big band worked. For example, the horn section kicked in with power and spirit on "How Sweet It Is To be Loved By You" and Van Morrison's "Crazy Love." But his slick rendition of the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" fell flat and never sounded comfortable.

Bublé more than made up for that slight misstep by connecting strongly with the crowd on every other song - as well as building rapport with plenty of between-song comments that revealed his influences go beyond Sinatra to Michael Jackson and the film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Bublé tossed in a brief — and creditable — dance sequence imitating Jackson, and led the crowd in a sing-a-long of "Twist and Shout," replicating the parade scene from the movie.

Michael Bublé's crowd-pleasing performance Friday evening was solid proof his popularity continues to rise. His dedicated approach as an entertainer — combined with his vocal talent and winning charisma —indicates he's going to be around for a long, long time.