We caught wind of Uncle Jason playing at The Apollonian Hotel at Boreen Point so we packed up the family and went down to offer him some support.
The Apollonian Hotel lets anyone get up and play on a Tuesday night for fifteen minutes of spotlight. It reminded me of karaoke nights Tracey and I used to go to when we were courting, only with talent.
Uncle Jason is a bit better than your average guitar wielding crooner though, and far more accomplished – he plays guitar in Nemo (aka Alf) and they released a CD a few years ago which my older two kids still play.
Jason impressed all and sundry with three songs including a great acoustic version of Lior’s This Old Love, which had me racing to the internet when I arrived home to check out the lyrics.
We ate pizza in the park before we headed off and drove, over hill and dale, to Boreen Point, arriving just after 7pm. Kids were happy because we ordered chips and soft drink and there was room to run and jump and play. And they got to watch Uncle Jason sing and play. I was especially happy cause I got to drink beer.
Miss3 wanted someone to give her a microphone so she could sing too. She amused the crowd by dancing most the night in front of any and all performers – except for the time she covered her ears and ran away from one poor lady. Hopefully she’ll grow into some discretion as she gets older. Miss7 and Master5 were less keen to be seen dancing without an adult, but they did manage to find a young friend to chase around and laugh with all night.
All up the night cost us only $70 – $15 for pizzas, $20 for fuel, $5 for chips and $30 for drinks. Not the cheapest night, I admit, but buying pizzas before we left saved us about $100 in meals at the pub. And sitting in the park while the sun set was lovely anyway. Sure, we could have further saved money by making sandwiches at home to eat in the car, or limiting the drinks, but we don’t get out a lot and the night was all about relaxing and having fun.
Despite being at a pub it was a great family night and one we hope to repeat soon. Just as soon as we can convince Uncle Jason a repeat performance is called for 🙂