The lights were pitch black. A guitar player began strumming a beat. Just then, a raspy voice sang into the microphone.

“Champaign, I’m ready to rock.”

The voice belonged to Chris Daughtry, who, along with his band, Daughtry, performed at Assembly Hall last night to promote their latest album, “Break the Spell”.

Well, it is definitely “No Surprise” that Daughtry knows how to put on a rock show.

Opening act SafetySuit, a Nashville-based quartet, gave the audience a fun, upbeat intro for what was yet to come. The band performed eight songs, three of those from their new album, “These Times” released in January. The title track is currently on VH1’s “Top 20 Countdown”. A hybrid between Motion City Soundtrack and Fall Out Boy, the band’s catchy rock anthems, most notably, “Stay”, from 2008’s “Life to Let Go”, kept the audience engaged before main act Daughtry emerged.

Clad in a Batman muscle tank, black jeans and sneakers, Daughtry broke into superhero mode on stage, jamming with his band-mates to every song during the show.

After their latest single, “Renegade” opened, it was only when the quintet played their 2006 hit single, “Feels Like Tonight” from their self-titled debut that the crowd got up off its feet and sang along.

Whether boasting new tunes or singing familiar ones, the band paced an even balance between the rock-tinged songs that established the band’s reputation and the soft-core, heartfelt ballads. The uplifting songs were played with the same amount of energy that it is often hard to believe the band has been around for only five years.

Daughtry’s 16-song set list, which the band said was a new set list starting at last night’s show, focused mostly on their new material. Highlights included the upbeat “Crawling Back to You” and “Losing My Mind”. But it also added old favorites, such as “What About Now” and “September”.

However, it was when Daughtry mentioned an even older song that the crowd began cheering with excitement.

With just a microphone and a guitar, Chris Daughtry told the crowd of his claim to fame.

“This is the song that got me my first record deal,” he said. “I wrote it on my couch six or seven years ago. I think you all know it by now.”

The song in question is “Home”, which Chris Daughtry sang during his stint on the popular reality singing competition American Idol.

Singing solo, Chris Daughtry’s raspy vocals were so raw and honest that some people may often forget he only came in fourth place during the show’s fifth season. He has certainly proved he has come a long way since his Idol days.

Daughtry bounced right back with his band mates, performing back-to-back hits “Over You” and “No Surprise”.

Champaign concertgoers also got a glimpse of their soon-to-be-released third single, “Outta My Head”, off the new album. Daughtry told the crowd the band will be shooting a video for the song, which will also be performed on American Idol on March 15.

Another surprise, however, was the band’s incredible cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Runnin’ Down A Dream”, which put the original to shame.

Adding to the set of surprises, Daughtry told the crowd that it was drummer Robin Diaz’s first gig in Champaign with the crew. With that, the group ended the show with “Spaceship”.

But it wasn’t long before the crowd was screaming for an encore. Five minutes later, Daughtry and company launched into a rousing rendition of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell”. Chris Daughtry boasted in full-on rocker mode and gave the crowd, “more, more more.” They certainly got what they asked for.