Corinda Tavern (OTooles)

It's Saturday night. You're in Brisbane's south west. You've read in a previous Where2sing.com review that newly refurbished pubs draw a real party crowd and offer great karaoke...

So you check the list, and decide that Corinda Tavern (O'Tooles) is the place to go (it's another of those Irish Pubs that are part of the Maguire's chain in the Brisbane area).
Corinda Tavern is on the main road traveling through Oxley to Corinda in the western suburbs of Brisbane, and you can't miss it. It has a big Jersey cow out the front by the door, and a large neon Guinness glass.

(It is easy enough place to find, and parking is good. If you get there between 5pm and 6pm there is a BBQ happening. All you have to do is buy a pot of Four X gold and you get a free steak burger.)

When you walk through the sliding glass doors, you will see the bar to your right, and there is a dining room with booths for those who want a more secluded spot. It has a typical woody look associated with the pseudo Irish pubs that have sprung up everywhere, and the walls abound with pictures of famous people and selected snippets of wisdom from such greats as Keats.

My wife and I rock through the doors about half past 6 and claim a table, one of those high round tables you can find in just about any pub in Australia - just outside the central dining area in a corner close to where the karaoke is going to be set up. We grab a couple of spare stools for some friends who will be arriving later.

We're both a bit hungry, and decide to have a meal. The menu is very good, and ranges from light snacks up to full meals. The wife opts for a house special known as the O'Tooles Special - this is prawns served in a beautiful garlic sauce and presented on a luscious bed of fettuccine pasta, the serving being a very generous portion which my wife isn't able to finish. I opt for a rib fillet steak, medium rare with pepper sauce and mixed vegetables and salad; the steak is almost tender enough to cut with a fork, and the pepper sauces rates up with some of the best that I've had. About $35 dollars later, my wife and I are feeling full and satisfied.

About the only issue I have with this place is that, in spite of being branded as an Irish type pub, one only gets the choice of Guinness here, and not my old favorite Kilkenny.

Our entertainment for the night arrives around 7pm to 7:30pm. Peter and Billee, of Night Owls Karaoke, set up their gear and then head off into the increasing crowd to say hello to the regulars, and to welcome all new comers.

Billee walks around to each table and asks if they'd like to sing tonight, and if so Billee leaves them a song book, which can be in artist or song order. It has a great range (5000+) from slow songs to fast, old classics and even some of the latest top of the chart songs. Peter and Billee have only one rule - and that is no slow songs after 10pm. Motto is party till the end.

The crowd is a good combination of all age groups going from 18 years (whose ID is meticulously checked by friendly but efficient security personnel) to folk in their mid 50's and up. Everyone is made to feel welcome - the regular people make the newcomers feel right at home. If you're one of the lucky ones who are game enough to be in one of the first singers, you get a free drink (beer, wine, basic spirits or soft drink).

A visual check of the stage shows a very clean and tidy setup, with a pair of speakers on either side of the stage. There is a video monitor on a stand in front of the singer with a fold back speaker. To the right of the stage is a screen for use with the overhead projector.

Our friends arrive and we busily fill out song slips so we can be sure to get our sonsg before someone else snatches them (the song slip allows for up to 3 songs to be submitted at one time). I go for the Charlie Rich classic 'Behind Closed Doors' for my first song of the night, followed by the Paul Oakenfield remix of 'Rubberneckin'', . . .(full story on where2sing.com)

Read the rest of this exclusive Karaoke Gig Review, and find whether this karaoke gig is still running on Where2sing.com . . .

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