Thing #71 on my list of 101 Things in 1001 Days: See live music in 20 different venues (3/20)
Sarah McLeod
George Lane, St Kilda
29 June
This show by Sarah McLeod was one of the most delightfully chaotic gigs of my entire life.
We arrived about an hour before the show, hoping to grab a coveted table near the stage. We hadn’t counted on the rain, or the cold, or the fact that the venue would be about 20 minutes late opening its doors to punters. We were freezing and drenched, but each time a staff member came out with a “5 more minutes!” update I told myself it would be worth it.
I was right.
The cold was forgotten once we were inside and warm, and we managed to grab a table where we could settle in for the night. We ordered food and beers, and before long Sarah walked onto the tiny stage at the front of the room.
“Funny story”, Sarah tells us, and explains that the cover band had fallen through at the last minute. The delay in bringing everyone inside had been because she was quickly writing another set of songs, which unexpectedly meant playing the haunted underwater piano at the back of the room, behind the audience.
It was at around this point that I got really excited, because I could see that this was somebody who was willing to make magic out of a shitty situation and not be precious about any of it. The piano was an absolute piece of shit, but every single person in the room was dying to see how this unfolded and so the energy was electric.
And off she went.
There was an alarming amount of unsolicited audience participation, a dramatic love story in the crowd (followed by breakup), and a punter who invited himself up on stage to sing a duet. Another artist might have cracked it over the multiple technical glitches, the snarky AV technician and eye-watering overfamiliarity of the audience, but instead Sarah seemed to run towards danger and embrace it all. The end result was one of the most joyful, improvised and intimate shows I’ll ever experience.
An incredible night, all set to Sarah McLeod’s phenomenal voice and songwriting. There will never be another gig like this one and we will never ever forget it, or just how generous and talented she is as a performer. I left one of her biggest fans and can’t wait to see her again.