what a night

photo courtesy of No 5

On Saturday night The Mid North took Bellingen by storm, playing at a sold out No. 5 with a waiting list as long as the bookings list, it had promises to be big even before a single note was played. The atmosphere was festive upon arrival, there was a buzz in the air as more tables were squeezed in, special menus were laid out on the tables and the fire was lit. Beautifully the staff, who were so excited, had gotten dressed up with a Bluegrass theme in mind, suspenders, overalls, boots, scarfs and flannels, you get the picture, they were all looking totally hot. The stage was adorned with our beautiful red persian rug and deep red velvet curtains, surrounded by pumpkins, gourds, lemons and vases of random greens and flowers, beautiful.
The first half of the night, people were eating, listening, appreciating and chatting, but the space was warm and comforting and it was the most perfect thing to do. Once appetites were sated and a few warming ales were working their magic (not that alcohol was necessary), it was all on, the energy was electric, everywhere, everywhere I would look (and there were a lot of faces to look at, as people were lined up along the walls and squished in all over the place) there were grins, beautiful grins, clapping, spoon playing by young and old, toe tapping, head nodding and then dancing, dancing in the only spare place; the kitchen and bar area, it was infectious and wonderful. After two hours of playing, The Mid North were finally exhausted but upon mentioning that their last song was nigh, there was outrage and offensive screaming, demands for more, banging, laughing, it was hilarious and wonderful, they were hooked. So Scott managed to bring out a couple more standards and finished up the night with even more whooping and a hollering.
I felt so happy for him, it was an amazing gig and so many people were just blown away. It is so wonderful that Scott has found a space (musically) where he feels so at home, it really suits his voice and he is amazing at writing songs and weaving a tale, so beautifully rewarding and fulfilling. We were reflecting the other day how he previous wrote introspective kind of songs which were lovely but maybe a little forced and to see and hear him now, nearly every week he is creating and conjuring new stories, it is so creative and nourishing. Scott, you are amazing.