Music vs hospitality in Boxing Day Cup

For one day this summer, when the majority of Adelaide’s bars, restaurants and venues are closed, a handful of musicians and bartenders will forego their usual black attire and don their whites for a Boxing Day cricket match like no other.

Words: Johnny Von Einem
Pictures: Andrè Castellucci

Musicians and bartenders’ professional lives see them spending a lot of late nights together in dimly lit rooms with access to alcohol; it was only a matter of time before someone suggested a game of cricket.

Remarks

We at CityMag know you weren’t planning on leaving your house on Boxing Day, but The Cup – with its live music, proliferate bars and snags in bread – should not be missed and is a far better option than that date you had planned with a cold turkey sandwich.

CityMag wholeheartedly encourages you to support the Eagle Blues – chefs, floor staff and bartenders who support you in times of hungry and thirsty need. The current team line up includes Captain Andy Nowell (The Happy Motel), Jordan Jeavons (The Happy Motel/Africola), Marshall King (Clever Little Tailor), Dhani Riehl (The Stirling Hotel), Will Lohmeyer (Casa Bla Bla) and Thomas Wald (Supermild/The Apothecary).

Now in its second year, the Boxing Day Cup pits these two seemingly symbiotic groups against one another, all for a bit of post-Christmas fun.

The Rockatoos, comprised of a select group of Adelaide musicians, will take on The (far superior) Eagle Blues, the crème de la sporting crème of Adelaide’s bartenders and hospitality staff, at Bonython Park for a day of sport, sun, beer, music, and barbecue cooked by Dads.

“It’s gonna be a great day. Sitting in the park, kicking back, unwinding from the hectic Christmas time. There’s gonna be some great music there, and it’s just going to be a really chilled atmosphere,” explains Eagle Blues team captain, and Happy Motelier, Andy Nowell.

The day will kick off with a Hendrix-style rendition of Advance Australia Fair, and throughout the event Kaurna Cronin and Hurricanes, as well as the live Radio Adelaide broadcast team, will keep the punters’ ears occupied.

On the field, the players will be sporting uniforms courtesy of RHD and Copley & Watson, and there has been promise of some Brett Lee-style blonde tips, but more importantly there will be talent and determination.

“Personally, I was like first drop in the Aldgate Under 14s Cricket Team of 1995 and we beat Mount Lofty in Uraidla to win the Hills Cup, so I would say there is talent,” says Andy.

After the resulting draw at last year’s inaugural match, The Eagle Blues now know not to underestimate their opponents.

“Their team last year was frickin’ good,” recalls Andy. “There were a couple of dark horses, like Anth (Wendt, AKA Oisima), he was sick.

“He’s got really well moisturised hands, I didn’t think that he would be actually good at anything other than making music. He’s proved me wrong in a lot of departments.”

For all the action, and more excellent anecdotes from Andy, head to Bonython Park at 2pm on Boxing Day, grab a beer from the Cricketers Arms Hotel pop-up bar, a snag from the World Famous Dad Barbecue, sit back and enjoy the sledging.