The Sitting Room

featuring Grant Smithies was a sellout for the 3rd year in a row; proving yet again to be the hottest ticket at the Nelson Arts Festival.

netMaestro in partnership with Jens Hansen are foundation sponsors of The Sitting Room. We hope to continue our support to ensure it's back in 2009.  We look forward to seeing you all.

Evening report

I noticed something slightly unnerving. I was standing in our bar at work having pre-gig dutch courage drinks, surrounded by 20 mates. Who, quite frankly should have been at home looking after the kids and mortgage; not heading off to a dance party.

I admit it, I'm old and I find it hard to except it. But this was annual denial night and I was going to be... (roll  Stars In Their Eyes music) Gareth Lawes 25 (not the aging 36 year old) with all the other 20 going on 50 somethings.

So I arrived fashionably late at Founders Granery with my pregnant wife, Mum, Dad and the rest of the party rabble following a short ride on the double decker bus.

Within an hour of arriving my father asked when the performance would start, it had. In fact much to his confusion, about an hour before we arrived. Yes, to the uninitiated a dance party is a strange beast. No intro, no exact finish? Just random applause's to the DJ in appreciation of the selection of tunes being mashed up.

Following up the success of the last 2 years running, Grant Smithies (AKA Soundboy of The Gathering era) returned to pilot the crowd on another fine selection of slippery beats. Grant selected plenty of old school reggae & ska, including my person favourite, Toots and The Maytals 54-46.  He also followed up on last years crowd favourite with a deserved repeat of Grace Jones's seminal, Pull Up To The Bumper Baby. And why not. Plenty more smirkers were to follow, as did the appreciative applauses.

The evening got slowly blurry as the music turned up and the alcohol flowed. My final act of the evening was waving goodbye to the hardy few at 7am milking the last few minutes of annual denial night. Happy in the thought my hangover would be much worse for it.

Get your tickets early next year to avoid missing out on your denial hangover.