“It’s my birthday today!” sang my husband.
“I’m older than yesterday” I sang.
We both looked expectantly at our 3 and a half year old daughter, Willow, then burst out laughing. We were singing the words to a Justine Clarke song. Her first CD has been playing in our car for over a year now and soon we would be seeing her live in concert. I wasn’t sure who was more excited, Willow or me. I also thought it was a bit sad that I was now as excited about a children’s concert as I used to be about a U2 concert.
On the day of the concert I loaded Willow and her baby brother into the car and set off to meet a friend who also has a 3 and a half year old.
The venue was great, small and intimate – important for a children’s concert. We ended up sitting towards the back, on the floor. Mats or more chairs would have been nice, but it was also good for the girls to have the space to dance and move around. Willow got into it, mouthing the words, clapping and dancing. Towards the end she was a bit over it and began covering her ears. I think it went for the right amount of time. Any longer and it would have been too long.
The lighting was simple, the familiar blue from the cover of her albums and the stage decorations were charming. Justine herself was engaging and the band were great.
Since Justine has recently released a new album I was afraid that she would mostly play her newer music. Fortunately she started off with the title song to her first album, “I like to sing” and played her newer songs, like Dinosaur Roar in the middle of the concert. She also finished the concert with “I like to sing”. We will be buying her new CD very soon.
Justine Clarke’s music is pure and fun. It doesn’t rely on any imaginary creatures for impact, she sings about things that children can relate to like going to the library, birthdays, and the rain.
Taking the day off work and taking both children out of childcare for the day was well worth it!
About the author: Candida is a blogger and mother of two. Visit her blog: Raising Willow… and Dexter!
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STOP PRESS!!
Justine is touring Tasmania in November. Dates are:
HOBART: Monday 17 November, 2008 – CityWide Baptist Church
LAUNCESTON: Tuesday 18th November – Punchbowl Christian Centre
DEVONPORT: Wednesday 19th November – Devonport Entertainment Centre
BOOKINGS: Playgroup Tasmania on 1800 171 882 or Quicktix on 1300 552 130. To find out if Justine is performing in your city, go to Quicktix.com.au.
Fantastic review!! Makes me wish we were going!