Sit on stage with a guitar and try to entertain 200 people? A tough job, and one that requires considerable showmanship. Somehow, the solo performer must appear complete, whole, lacking nothing as he or she uses voice and fingers to produce resonant acoustic music.

Solo acoustic skills were put to the test Wednesday night at Five Points South Music Hall when the "Tellin' Stories" tour stopped here with Graham Parker, Radney Foster and Jeff Black in tow.

These musicians come from very different backgrounds: Parker from acerbic British rock, Foster from the country/pop blend known as "cowpunk" and Black from gritty, descriptive folk. But they lined up at Five Points for an evening of round robin music that displayed their strengths and weaknesses in the difficult solo format.

Despite a democratic atmosphere, Black emerged as the clear leader - a surprising development considering that Parker and Foster have been in the public eye for a much longer time. Black's 1998 album, Birmingham Road, is his debut recording on the Arista Austin label, while Parker's career dates back to the '70s New Wave movement and Foster earned fame in the '80s duo Foster & Lloyd.

But Black's relative rookie status didn't hinder him in the least; he played and sang with confident, charismatic authority. Black's selections, including "Uniontown," were juicy, realistic slices of Americana, reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen or Woody Guthrie.

The talented Parker and Foster, on the other hand, are at their best when backed by a partner or band. Their numbers at Five Points came off as skimpy, unfinished, lacking some mysterious ingredient that would have put them over the top.

On "Sharpening Axes" and "New York Shuffle," Parker's thin renditions cried out for a group like his old mates in Rumour. For depth and richness, Foster's "Texas in 1880" and "I'm In" needed the aid of colleague Bill Lloyd or one of the collaborators on his next album, See What You Want to See.

Overall, however, this was a pleasant evening of music - and one that marked Jeff Black as a gutsy soloist to be reckoned with.