Mandurah was bustling on Friday night with thousands of residents taking advantage of no longer needing to be seated to be served drinks, dancing and unseated live music for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions shut down pubs, clubs and restaurants in March.
Ahead of the 11.59pm lifting of the limit on crowd numbers, long queues formed outside Mandurah hotspots including Murphy's Irish Pub and The Pen.
With lines reaching the end of the roundabout and around the corner, Murphy's Irish Pub part-owner Vanessa Janiec compared the night to New Years Eve.
"It was nice to see some happy celebrations after such a stressful few months for everybody," she said.
"We already had the 100 capacity inside then we had a line of about 150 people outside waiting to come in.
"Everyone was ready to get back into the night life so it was really like New Years Eve."
With unseated live music back the Peel hospitality and music industry are working together to get many local musicians playing gigs again.
We already had the 100 capacity inside then we had a line of about 150 people outside waiting to come in.
- Murphy's Irish Pub part-owner Vanessa Janiec
Mandurah musician Billy Neal said he had already booked several gigs since restrictions eased.
"McGowan has saved us by keeping the borders shut so now I can perform safely and people can party again," he said.
"I am truly back into shows now with gigs in Mandurah, Kalbarri, Carnarvon, Coral Bay and Shark Bay coming up soon."
Billy, who played at Murphy's Irish Pub when Phase Four began, said the event was unlike any other.
"One minute it was lockdown then the next it felt like it had returned to normal," he said.
"During my performance from 9pm to 12am it felt like a sit down jazz bar but then suddenly at 12am it was like a nightclub."
The Pen manager Ryan McFarlane also said the queues were long with the venue being at capacity all night.
"Everyone was overjoyed and happy to be out in the bustle of town," he said.
"It was not just the 18 year olds coming out for a party there was also families out for dinner, and work parties so everyone was able to coexist together and had a good night because of it.
"It was great to see that everybody had listened to the restrictions put in place by the government and now that everyone did that we are all able to reap the rewards."
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