It has been said you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Mandy and Toni's first gig at the Freeling Hotel however did not leave a good impression, it left an excellent impression! The evening however got off to a bit of a shaky start… The gig attracted good numbers for the 9pm starting time, but it was pretty clear early on that the locals did not quite know how to perhaps take karaoke in their treasured local. Mandy and Toni (who are both excellent singers!) initially treated us to some Christmas songs that brought some cheer to the place, but I think the turning point was when Mandy drew on her considerable experience in revving up tentative crowds and wisely put on TT’s classic (‘everyone knows the words to’) ‘Simply The Best’… with the wireless mic in hand, she started roving among the punters encouraging one and all to have a sing….it was obvious almost immediately that there was some real talent in the room that just needed that little push and some encouragement… Mandy is good at giving people a little nudge/push! Fortunately, it was at about that time also that the broken beer taps were fixed and I knew the ice was broken. Suddenly, the song sheet started filling up and happy days were here again…. From that point on, there were numerous great, fun performances that pretty much set the tone for of the rest of the night…. I am not very familiar with the locals … bear with me… I am not very good at remembering names….. a couple of very talented young ladies performed Proud Mary (great effort!), one of them then (bravely!) had a crack at CD’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and, I must say, absolutely nailed it (reckon she has sang before)! There were lots of ‘group’ performances, with groups ranging in size from three to six up singing their hearts out – B52’s ‘Love Shack’, BEP’s ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ and HR’s ‘I Am Woman’ being clear crowd favourites! Not to be forgotten, we were also treated to some performances from a number of youngies… Casey (wow, what a talent!) with BC’s ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ and a duet with her mum, Mandy (Teenage Dream) along with a first karaoke performance from Mandy’s son Cooper of ‘Bananas In Pyjamas’. It is good to see that the song list (and venue) caters for (and encourages) youngsters, after all, they are the future of karaoke! I had to leave at 11pm, but I must say that the Freeling Hotel was certainly fired up when I left! As I have suggested, there were some strong performances from a range of performers (some of whom I think didn’t know they had it in them!) throughout the night to that point and I am sure that Mandy and Toni had their hands full managing the lengthy song request sheet for the rest of the night…. I would love to have found out how the rest of the night went! This Freeling Hotel gig will (hopefully) certainly not be the last. I am sure that the locals will be penciling in details of the next karaoke gig at the Freeling Hotel as a ‘must attend’. Can’t wait for the next gig guys… well done on an excellent night! Karaoke in the north rocks!

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