A story about a singer, Alastair Moock, who writes songs to help his daughter cope with her illness caught Issi's attention and even though she's just 11 years old, she wanted to shave her head in support of his daughter Clio, and to raise money for cancer research. You know, it's important for parents to recognize and appreciate when their kids act selflessly, if only because it's such a rare and (honestly beautiful) thing! So, as a surprise for Issi's birthday, it was arranged for Alastair himself to come to her birthday party and perform for the many friends and families who came to celebrate the mother-daughter birthday. It was just an incredible time for everyone.
We enjoyed a personal, intimate concert right in the living room and Alastair opened with the song that he's well-known for, "when I get bald". He talks about standing tall, being proud, using his hair to make a nest for birds, reminiscing about the hair he once had, and painting a face on the back of his head and doing all kinds of funny things.
He commended Issi for being such a special girl for wanting to shave her head and raise money for cancer research, and commented, that it's pretty unusual for an 11-year old to have a cancer-themed birthday party! What followed were delightful and fun songs, getting the whole party to flap their arms like a chicken, sing along, and playing Clio's solo part on kazoos. Interspersed were songs that would be so helpful for a kid, a hilarious tune about being brave at the doctor's, and an empathetic piece about understanding feelings of jealousy, and an insightful "kids, take care of your grownups" about the flaws and struggles grownups have, to which Alistair commented, "I've never had the adults in the audience boo at those lyrics before, that's a first". lol, you just have to know my family.
