Maybe it was the recent post (Burns an Aa’ That) that got us to thinking about it. Or, maybe, it was just the time of year when people start thinking about holidays that got us to thinking that we had never done a disco in Australia.
Granted, we haven’t done a disco in lots of countries, so why did we get to thinking about Australia, other than recently attending the send off for a great Ozzie regular from the Fort in Dundee who, incidentally, has a great singing voice! Best wishes to you and your family in your new life M.
Of course, it would never happen that we’d be asked to cover a function over there but a karaoke wouldn’t be out of the question, would it?
Normally, we take our holidays during recognised “quiet” times so our trip to Australia coincided with their very early springtime and involved much travelling – mostly air travel. Road travel was a doddle though, due to good roads and enough foresight to purchase the Australian road maps for our SatNav. Well worth the cost!
We’ve been to some amazing karaoke nights and made some great (and lasting) friends in many countries, all because we surf the internet weeks beforehand, looking for local – and, sometimes, not so local places – hosting karaoke nights. Some fantastic, memorable nights have come from this.
So we thought Australia’s east coast (Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland) would supply their own new experiences.
Melbourne passed in a blur but we thought Sydney would produce the goods.
Well, apart from a drag act MCing a few reluctant singers who were persuaded on-stage with the promise of a free beer, we found only one other venue. Neither had up-to-date song lists.
On to the Gold Coast and Coolangatta where, of all places, our hotel had a karaoke evening (purely coincidental for once). From that, we got to chatting to a great couple who told us about another venue out of town and offered to take us.
It turned out to be a huge barn of a place, with a couple hosting the evening in a Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton style, complete with appropriate commentary.
Don’t get us wrong, we had a really good night and the people were very friendly and welcoming. However, it wasn’t what we’d expected given all the great things we’d seen and done in the preceeding weeks.
The evening finished about 11.00 p.m. Australians are early-bedders and, consequently, early risers, but we took bad with this since it was a holiday area.
So, here’s what we’d like to know. If there are any Australians out there reading this we’d welcome your input.
Why does Australia not go in for karaoke in a bigger way? Were we in the wrong places?
We’ve found karaoke in the most unusual places. We were once told by a patrolling cop who stopped a car-full of lost- (and, possibly, sinister) looking foreigners crawling along at 10 mph in a built-up neighbourhood in the dark, searching for a venue we’d read about on the internet, that “you don’t wanna go there”!
Once we assured her that we most definitely did, bless her, she gave us directions and sent us on our way thinking, perhaps, that we’d never be seen again other than our passport photos on the front page of the local paper, but we had a truly brilliant night in the local hostelry that serves Otis Air Base near Mashpee, Massachusetts, USA. Cheers guys! We still think about you all.
There must be karaoke venues in Australia, otherwise Sunfly wouldn’t produce an Ozzie version of their monthly Hits disc!
Help us out here – a few venue names and we’ll give them a mention for all like-minded Brits who can’t do without their fix of karaoke on holiday.
We have to say, at the moment, the States win hands-down for great venues and friendly people. Are you Australians going to take up the challenge??
Now, that’s Janaury’s New Year Resolution from BDK – research some more venues for future holidays.
Another one is to find a client/s who want a Burns Night Disco. Any takers?