Last night we headed off to the Colosseum to hear Ethan perform in the Winter Showcase. The night started with the typical sound checks with a number of local artists, all from the Bay Of Plenty Polytechnic. (University) It was a cold and dreary night outside, but inside there was an overwhelming sense of warmth and companionship as the musicians, sound guys, and venue staff mingled and got things set up. This went on for a couple of hours,and ran on for bit longer than it was supposed to, but everybody endured the punishment of sound check and the real music started on time at 7.30pm.

Ethan was introduced to the stage, acoustic in hand and microphone ready to go. He announced that he was playing his latest song (yet to be released) and off he went. The confidence and enthusiasm as always, showed his natural charisma, as he wooed the crowd through his first number. “Cold Hard Ashes” is a song written for a long lost companion, and the song did well to represent how Ethan can seamlessly put together a set of words, ordinary words, to tell an enchanting story. The crowd of around 60 people was silent until the very last note was played, and then the venue rang out with applause, whistles and shouts of appreciation. Ethan was proud of what he just delivered.

He then went on to introduce his second song “Just The Way It Seems” and again he pulled it off with relative ease. Battling with sub-standard sound levels and a proverbial “buzz” from the equipment, he charged through his second song with conviction and what has now been recognised as “Ethan Passion”

The crowd again showed their appreciation and enjoyment with a resounding applause, as Ethan tried to introduce the next artist on stage. When the applause faded, and he had managed to pass out a couple of very warm smiles, he went straight into thanking the audience and introducing the next act.

Overall and accounting for the fact that we were also videoing the event, the night was a great source of enjoyment for us all. To see him up there doing his thing with the big boys (and girls, lol) was a treat I will cherish for a very long time. It was also a comforting sight to see him mixing with the other musicians for most of the night, in the “Green Room”, clearly lapping up the whole environment. One I am sure he will be a part of for many years to come.