Calexico - Nicks big night out.

Had a big night out last night. It is not often we get to go out, so when we heard Calexico were playing Byron Bay, I started making plans for a real Mehican type night...

First stop, St Elmo's bar where we will have a Margarita each. Secondly, Paella at the Balcony Restaurant. Third stop The Great Northern and Calexico.

I was organised ready an hour early. We went to get into the car and found that our daughter, who is learning to drive, had left the lights on. Flat battery. Mad scramble and rush to get a recharger onto the car and to take the ladders off the work truck.

At St Elmo's the Mr (I don't know what else to call him) obsessed about the bad electrical wiring while I sipped on my cocktail. We had opted not to have the Margarita's after I found they contained Tequila. Instead I had a gin, lemon and sugar topped with some champagne. (Bear with me, I don't usually have cocktails)

It has been reported of late that Aussie girls prefer tradies to metro males. In that case they had better get used to the titillating conversation whilst seated in upmarket eateries. Such classics as:

• "They have even painted the fire detector!"
• "All the wiring is surface conduits, it looks like an apprentice did it. You don't want to be looking at this when you're trying to relax."
• "Can you tell which pipes are sewerage and which are water?"
• "Why don't they put a false ceiling in? All that poo is being flushed over our heads"

Next stop, the Balcony Restaurant. Without being too negative, tacky decor... red, gold, bad art, budda's, fabric flowers and nauseous frangipani oils in the bathroom. Service poor, "Who wanted the wine?" asked by the waitress from across the table. I answered me. "Here ya " she said sliding the glass over the table towards me, but not quite making it. I had to reach out for it.

Ah, that laid back Byron ambience. Those high prices, the saviour faire of the staff. The food was bland, ordinary and gritty. Maybe I have seen too much of Masterchef and we have adopted Matt's high standards. Maybe we don't get out enough and are so very povo that we don't realise that it is acceptable, nay cool,  to throw $100 away on tastless rice.

But enough of the negativity. Calexico delivered splendidly. They are all brilliant musicians. It was a great gig, and because it was a Sunday night they had to finish by 12 o'clock, so the old folk were snuggled in their beds quite early. I got the old fella a T-shirt with the above graphic on it but wish that that the Merch desk had  had some Calexico Dia de los Muertos Papel Picados that I found on the Calexico website today. xxN