YOU don't forget your first show at Lizotte's.
Mine was watching The Drones and Tropical F--k Storm frontman Gareth Liddiard in 2011 on his tour for his debut solo album Strange Tourist.
The way Liddiard's sometimes discordant Australian voice boomed around the refined theatre in contrast to his tender acoustic guitar, had the audience transfixed.
Everyone was listening intently to Liddiard's every word. You could almost hear yourself breathe between strums of his guitar.
"It seems we're all in for a treat," Liddiard sang in the opening line of his song Blondin Makes an Omelette. And indeed we were.
If, like me, you'd spent the majority of your previous Newcastle gig experiences at sweaty pub gigs at the Cambridge Hotel and the Bar On The Hill or at large outdoor festivals, then Lizotte's presented a completely new way to consume live music.
In the 11 years since, I've watched dozens of live music and comedy shows at the Lambton theatre.
As have thousands of Novocastrian music fans, who have been seduced by the exquisite combination of intimate live performance, fine food and owners Brian and Jo Lizotte's personable brand of service.
Venues like the old Depot on Beaumont and 5 Sawyers in Darby Street have also attempted the dinner-concert format over the years, but they never had a venue as beautiful and appropriate as Lizotte's 1910 art deco theatre.
Unfortunately it's an era in Newcastle live music which is seemingly headed toward its curtain call.
Last week it was announced the Lizotte's business and the Morehead Street venue, were for sale as Brian and Jo are looking to spend more time with their growing family.
The news has naturally been met with anxiety from music punters. Lizotte's has long offered a unique atmosphere and developed a loyal following.
You'd be hard pressed to find a popular Australian musician whose target audience is above 30 who hasn't played at Lizotte's.
Diesel (who is the younger brother of Brian Lizotte), Jimmy Barnes, The Black Sorrows, Kasey Chambers, The Whitlams and Shane Nicholson perform at the venue at least once a year.
However, for me it's the international acts Lizotte's has attracted - who would normally bypass the Hunter on their tours along the east coast - that reveals its true value.
The late American country blues troubadour Justin Townes Earle was one such artist. The son of the legendary Steve Earle, performed at Lizotte's four times, in front of mostly sold-out crowds.
His final performance, where Townes Earle played shirtless for half the set, was in September 2019, less than a year before his death at 38 from a drug overdose.
Another US act I discovered at Lizotte's was bluesman Cedric Burnside, whose voice and primeval beat-driven guitar riffs brought the Mississippi's hill country to Lambton.
Not all the international acts drew a crowd. But Lizotte's wasn't afraid to take a risk. US experimental guitarist Kaki King only attracted around 40 punters to her 2018 show, but her virtuosity and imagination marvelled the lucky few in attendance.
Of course there were plenty of foreign stars who easily sold out Lizotte's.
In 2017 folk star Martha Wainwright returned with her three-man backing band to perform in front of an appreciative crowd, and two years later Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis gave the sold-out audience an ear-drum lashing in the loudest show the venue has hosted.
Just where Newcastle music fans will be able to enjoy these type of experiences remains uncertain.
There's been strong interest from outside Newcastle since the business was listed last week and Brian Lizotte is hopeful the future owners continue the venue's legacy.
"The word is out now and it feels good," Lizotte told the Herald's Jade Lazarevic.
"It does feel good and we are hoping to cast the net out there to as many, many, many fish as we can, so that we can have a bit of choice and get the right operator and have a good result for everyone.
"It's important to continue what we've built. With the heartfelt [effort] that goes into what I do, it is absolutely important to me to find someone that will continue on with what we have built.
"I can know that I have passed my legacy onto something and it's not just going to dry up and become an apartment building."
