A musical evening at the Errington Hall this Saturday surrounds one man’s life in the gambling underworld, a tale rife with history, humour and excitement.
Bob Bossin is bringing his one-man musical about his father’s life called Davy the Punk to the Errington Hall May 24 at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $20 from the Errington Store, Cranky Dog Music in Parksville and Heaven on Earth in Qualicum Beach.
Bob’s father, Davy Bossin, grew up in Toronto in an immigrant slum known as The Ward. He went on to take a prominent spot in the international gambling industry, but Bob didn’t know any of this until much later.
The father Bob knew growing up in Toronto in the 1950s was a quiet, conservative booking agent for mainstream night clubs.
The father he later discovered was Davy the Punk, a pivotal figure in Canada’s gambling business of the 1930s and ‘40s. Davy’s battles with the law created precedents that still affect people today.
Around 1950, Davy quit the underworld—so his son wouldn’t grow up in it. Instead Bob grew up to found Stringband, to pioneer Canadian indie-music, and to write songs Pete Seeger praised as “funny, informative and inspiring at the same time.”
Musician and author Leon Rosselson said Davy the Punk is “about fatherhood, family, immigrant life, political high life and the criminal underworld. Entertaining, illuminating and, at times, touching.”
Youth 12 and under are $5 at the door and children under 5 are free.
For more information visit www.davythepunk.com. For more on the Errington Hall visit www.erringtonhall.bc.ca.
—News Staff/Submitted by Bob Bossin
