Monday

A night out with my favourites

By Thomas Feng

July 11^th, 2016

It was a Monday night and the wind howled for the storm clouds to crash land onto St. Kilda’s Acland Street. The streaming sea gales and the onset of thundering rain propelled us to run and seek haven in the tall ceilings of the Palais Theatre.

We were out to see Matt Corby after having eaten dinner at Sister of Soul which included raw lasagna (rawsagna), sangria and dessert. Our souls were certainly full and warm already after that meal.

As we walked in showing our tickets, unfamiliar faces stood alone lurking outside, waiting for their friends to meet them. I suppose that makes gigs strange. They are a sea of unfamiliar faces all gathering around to see a familiar face, or hear a familiar sound or feel a familiar feeling.

Monday night gigs are even stranger. Everyone is a mix of tired and excited; too worried to let loose because they have work the next day, or they need to take the kids to school, or they simply feed off everybody else’s (lack of) energy.

Matt Corby barely spoke the whole set: the cheeky “cheers mate” were the most words he uttered the whole night when enthusiastic members shouted praise after a song. You could tell he was consumed by the music. He was the music and he shone bright in trying to make the crowd connect to him.

He stood barefoot in trackpants and an oversized t-shirt as he took the crowd on a journey which began with alternative soul rock (including a flute solo!) to electronic R&B using layering, to his tried and trusted folk tales before ending on a flute solo again. The crowd seemed confused but breathless by the end.

I don’t know if I felt connected or completely disconnected with Matt. I wanted to hear more about the stories at the heart of his beautiful songs, but I felt so much in each and every song.

I was full of love for the people I came with: Meg, Nathan and Beci. I remember we had the loveliest group-hug inside the Palais between the support act and Matt; it was a moment of shared familiarity where we were all feeling tired but happy and loved; a moment where no words needed to be spoken. I am starting to feel that was what Matt wanted the whole night: an emotive connection without words.

Often I feel like there is a crackling, eternal fire when we hang out together; that our souls alternate between providing little sparks and flickers of inspiration, clarity and warmth into each other’s lives.

And I remember the taxi ride home with Beci: we held each other and in that moment there were no two people in the universe closer, no knots tied tighter and no atoms more connected than us.