New Computer & Windows 10

Corsair  Mid Tower Case with side window

Having taken possession of my new super duper computer last Wednesday, I have been accustoming myself to Windows 10.

Much as I dreaded upgrading to Windows 10, it has not been all that stressful and is pretty much like Windows 7, except bossier.

Gratifyingly, all my beloved antique software works fine without any problems. Amazing to discover that MS Office 2003 (the last MS Office with the old interface before the ribbon interface was introduced in Office 2007)  is still operable under the latest version of Windows.

The picture above is of the mid tower case of the new computer. Tower cases have gotten groovier these days -  a far cry from the boring beige boxes of the past.  There was one at the computer shop with flashy lighting effects, but I settled on the minimalist Corsair 100R case which has a side glass panel so you can see the computer’s innards, and no doubt how dusty it will get as the years go by.

It is a fast machine that comes with bountiful USB 3 ports and runs quietly.

So overall I’m really pleased I opted for a new computer and that Windows 10 has proved (so far) not to be the gremlin I had anticipated and was easy to customise to my liking.

One good thing about Windows 10, is that Open Live Writer now has a spell checker, unavailable on Windows 7 , so hopefully I won’t be making as many inadvertent mistakes. I have yet to test that it uploads to Google, but this post will be the proof.

On other matters I have several events booked in February and March, two literary occasions – Margaret Atwood at Hamer Hall on 23 February and Neil Gaiman at the Capitol on February 25 – and three music concerts. The first of these is Patty Griffin on March 3, followed by Eilen Jewell on 19 March and Kieran Kane on 26 March. So there’s lots to look forward to in this brand new year.

Hopefully I’ll be back at the races next Saturday at Caulfield. Alas, transport disruptions mean that I will have to catch a bus to Caulfield next week as trains are not running, though the rest of the autumn racing season at Caulfield appears not to be affected, in February at least.

The 2020 All Star Mile will be run at Caulfield this year in mid March and is shaping up as the race of the Melbourne autumn season, with a plethora of classy horses nominated. 

I witnessed the inaugural running of the race last year at Flemington, won by Tassie filly Mystic Journey. She is nominated again and will probably get a start. Let’s hope the P B Lawrence Stakes curse has worn off this autumn and that she can add another win to her tally.

Winter in Ivanhoe

Yellow Rhodedendron – spot of colour to spite the cold

I am not looking forward to this first winter in Ivanhoe, not that I welcomed it in the old house in Northcote either.

This current residence is a cold house, due to the insulation which makes it cool in summer, but in winter it’s a different matter.  A giant gum tree in the next door neighbour’s garden effectively  prevents sunlight from reaching our back yard, and a distinct chill invades the house.

The house has three different warming systems, only one of which we use. B  has objections to the ducted heating system, arguing that it is wasted energy in that it heats the entire house and we both prefer a cool bedroom at night. 

When we first moved here back in September there was a gas flame fire, but it turned out to be purely decorative and was useless as a heater. Thankfully it has been replaced with a real gas flame fire, which works, and is the sole means of heating we use. 

Bingo the cat loves it and toasts himself in front of it when it’ s operating – later in the day when the chill really sets in. The rest of the time we rug up and endure the cold.

Speaking of the cats, Bingo is now fully grown, a small but perfectly formed cat with a big attitude, and is still as naughty as ever.

Bingo shredding the door mat

He has however learned better table manners and now responds (with vocal objections) to NO when told to get off the table when we’re eating.

These days he has been spending a lot of time under the house growling at another cat, an oldish long haired tabby who lives a couple of houses up and visits every morning. According to its owner, Bingo visits their house too and the two cats engage in the same growling and howling activity there as well, though it doesn’t escalate into anything more serious.

There are other cats around – a young rag doll called Theo and other moggies of varied colours.

Talya understandably loathes Bingo, but has learnt some of his bad habits, such as climbing all over the benchtops and licking out saucepans in the sink, something she would not dream of doing before. 

She has also become incontinent, pissing inappropriately on the floor, and shitting on the rugs, which we’ve been forced to take up and put out of her reach and close doors to rooms we don’t use regularly. Her behaviour is stress related I think and we can’t think of any way to break her of the habit, other than forcing her to go outside last thing at night and early morning,  the usual times these “accidents” are likely to occur.

Bingo is merciless as far as Talya is concerned, constantly teasing her and disrupting her peace by jumping on her when she’s sound asleep.  Both cats get fractious when they’re hungry and are terribly distracting until they are fed.

That’s one of the reasons I haven’t been writing any posts of late, but truth to tell I haven’t been feeling all that inspired to add words to a screen and nothing much has happened to excite my interest in writing anything.

I did attend the Eilen Jewell concert back in May and it was as good as always. I took along the Canon G16 camera, but found to my dismay that the battery was almost flat as was the spare, so I couldn’t take many photos.

Eilen Jewell and her ace band at Thornbury Theatre – 23 May 2018

I  couldn’t resist purchasing the below poster that was on sale at the merchandise table and get it signed.

Eilen Jewell poster produced by Moon Rabbit Press

As usual I’ve been passing the time reading and playing computer games…

Back in April I downloaded to my Kindle six Joan Aiken novels that had just been issued as eBooks, having been out of print as physical books for many years.  As they were only $6.00 each it was an irresistable temptation.

Joan Aiken is one of my favourite writers who I have been following since the 1960s, when I first discovered her “Wolves” series of alternate history children’s novels, which encompass 12 books in all, the last published after Joan Aiken’s death (in 2004) in 2005.

She was a prolific writer, producing over a hundred books, for both children and adults.

The six novels I downloaded were her delightfully wicked Regency and Gothic romances, and I binge read them one after the other over the past month or so, and thoroughly enjoyed indulging in their guilty pleasures.

Most of the computer games I’ve been playing were ones I had played before, except for Keepsake a game I actually have on DVD, but was unable to play it when I got it in 2006, due to various issues.

It was recently released on Steam, so I purchased it and played it and found it to be a quite engaging game with an interesting plot and unusual puzzles, some of them very hard to crack.

 

It was also a lengthy game with many locations to explore and is set in school for magic ala Harry Potter. The heroine is Lydia who arrives at the school to begin a course in magic, only to discover that the academy is deserted, with no sign of pupils or teaching staff.  Lydia is particularly distressed by the non appearance of her childhood friend Celeste whom she has been looking forward to seeing again after many years.

The game basically centres around Lydia’s search for answers to the mystery of the deserted academy, in which she is assisted by Zac, a shapeshifted wolf who claims he is really a dragon, whom Lydia releases from a cupboard where he had been locked up before everyone went missing.

I’m of course hanging out for the beginning of the spring racing season, still a month or so away, but promising to be a bit more interesting than last year, with a few new potential stars of the turf emerging recently over the Sydney and Brisbane carnivals. And Winx will be back in action soon, quite possibly on 18 August in the newly promoted to Group 1, Winx Stakes  - formerly the Warwick Stakes, now renamed in her honour. 

I’ve already purchased a ticket to the Cox Plate;  Winx’s main target this spring, where she will be aiming to become the first horse to win it four times.

Literary Lights Jennifer Egan & Fran Lebowitz at Athenaeum Theatre

Jennifer Egan at Athenaeum Theatre 8 May 2018

On Tuesday  night I ventured into the city to attend the sole literary event  in which I was interested to see in the Wheeler Centre’s Mayhem Series.

I had read and enjoyed Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Visit From The Goon Squad back when it was first released in 2010, and acquired her latest novel Manhattan Beach redeeming a gift voucher I received for Christmas.

Though completely different from Goon Squad, being a more conventional novel, Manhattan Beach was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

The event was at the ancient Athenaeum Theatre in Collins Street and pretty well a sell out. When I arrived at around 7.15 pm the theatre was half full, but I managed to get a seat up the front on the aisle in the third row. It turned out to be a handy position for taking photos and also exiting the auditorium after the show so as to get close to the front of the queue for book signings.

Michael Williams & Jennifer Egan – Athenaeum Theatre

Michael Williams, Director of the Wheeler Centre, chaired the discussion, which mainly covered  the aforementioned novels.

A Visit From The Goon Squad is not a novel as such, but more a collection of interrelated short stories, so it was interesting to hear Jennifer Egan’s account of how she came to write it.

If you have read the book, you would know that the first story features Sasha who has problem with kleptomania, the opening sentence being “It began in the usual way, in the bathroom of the Lassimo Hotel”.

When Jennifer Egan first began Goon Squad, she explained, she had no idea what it would become, her original intention being to write a short story inspired by her own brush with theft (her wallet was stolen and she was scammed in a phone call to reveal her Credit Card pin number)  and her subsequent observation of a wallet carelessly left in the open by a user of the facilities in the lady’s room of a hotel. 

Having written the first story, she became intrigued by the character of Sasha’s old boss, Bennie Salazar, whom Sasha casually mentions as having a habit of spraying his armpits with pesticide and sprinkling gold flakes into his coffee. This resulted in a story explaining Bennie’s peculiar habits, and so on, characters in each previous story inspiring another until she had a book – thirteen stories in all.

Manhattan  Beach took many years to write and required a great deal of research. Set during the second world war, the action mostly centred around Brooklyn Navy Yard. Egan said that her first version of the book was awful and that her second version wasn’t much better, adding that this was normally the case when she writes a novel.

The heroine of Manhattan Beach is Anna Kerrigan, daughter of an Irish immigrant, growing up poor in New York. She gets a job in the naval yard and eventually becomes a Navy diver. Of course the novel  is far more complex than that, but the topic of discussion at the Athenaeum concentrated on Jennifer Egan’s research, particularly her first hand experience of trying on a 1940s diving suit.

Jennifer Egan admitted that the 19th Century was her favourite literary period and that George Eliot’s Middlemarch was her favourite book. She recently wrote a wonderful article about George Eliot and Middlemarch for The Guardian which made me wish to read it again. 

It was an interesting event and Jennifer Egan came across as charming and articulate. I really must read some of her other novels.

Update 31/5/18

Jennifer Egan’s event is now available to watch  on video at the Wheeler Centre website.

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Fran Lebowitz signing books at the Athenaeum Theatre – 2 March 2018

Earlier this year in March I attended another literary event at the Athenaeum Theatre where noted New York bibliophile, wit and social commentator Fran Lebowitz was the star attraction. She was very funny, but as it is a while since the event I can’t remember specific quotes. She was  interviewed by Michael Williams for a short time, then he threw the audience to the wolves by inviting Fran Lebowitz to answer their questions. Some answers were a simple yes or no,  others were more expansive.

I was interested to hear that when looking for a new apartment, the major requirement she needs is enough room to fit her personal library which numbers many thousands of books.

So she struck me as a person after my own heart as I agreed with many of her opinions expressed that night, except her professed lack of interest in technological gadgetry of any kind.

When getting my ancient paperback copy of her book Metropolitan Life signed, she was surprised  to see that it was an edition she hadn’t come across previously, hence the remark about rare book collecting.

With winter coming and a while to wait until the spring racing season I haven’t much on, other than a concert later this month, where I am going to see the delightful Eilen Jewell at Thornbury Theatre.

March Music–Jason Isbell & Eilen Jewell

Jason Isbell at Melbourne Recital Centre – 29/3/16

Jason Isbell has been hailed as the saviour of country music by various music critics, though he denies it. His latest record, Something More Than Free won a Grammy for Best Americana Album, and he won Best American Roots Song for 24 Frames, one of the notable tracks on the album.

He is undoubtedly one of the best songwriters around, so it was with keen anticipation that I went to his concert at the acoustically excellent Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in the Melbourne Recital Centre at Southbank.

Everything claimed about the acoustics in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall is true. I’ve never heard such purity and clarity of sound in a venue before. It certainly beats venues like Northcote Social Club hands down, which was where I last saw Jason Isbell perform live.

Eilen Jewell and her band opened for Jason Isbell  and played an engaging half hour set that sweetened the audience beautifully for the rest of the night.

Eilen Jewell at Melbourne Recital Centre – 29/3/16

Jason Isbell was accompanied by his excellent band The 400 Unit who comprise Sadler Vaden on guitar, Jimbo Hart on bass, Derry DeBorja on keyboards and Chad Gamble on drums.

A powerful performer, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit wowed the crowd with a stunning set of songs drawn from his repertoire, encompassing Something More Than Free, Southeastern and his back catalogue, including songs he wrote for the Drive By Truckers.

At the end of his show he was accorded a standing ovation, a courtesy Melbourne audiences seem more prone to doing these days.

Jason Isbell Setlist

1. Stockholm
2. Decoration Day
3. Alabama Pines
4. Something More Than Free
5. Travelling Alone
6. Never Gonna Change
7. Cover Me Up
8. Relatively Easy
9. 24 Frames
10. The Life You Chose
11. Speed Trap Town
12. Different Days
13. If It Takes a Lifetime

Encore:

1. Elephant
2. Codeine

The night after the Jason Isbell concert I went to see Eilen Jewell  doing a headline show at Thornbury Theatre on the 30th March. 

Eilen  Jewell is a real gem of an artist – witty, sparkling - and has a great voice – sultry and sweet. She also writes great songs; on the dark side of the spectrum generally, which belies her innocent looks.

Eilen Jewell at Thornbury Theatre 30/3/16

She opened her set with two songs from her latest excellent album Sundown Over Ghost Town – Worried Mind and Hallelujah Band, then harked back to her 2009 record, Sea of Tears, with Rain Roll In.

Supported as usual by her fabulous band which features Jerry Miller on electric guitar, Johnny Sciascia on upright bass and Jason Beek (her husband) on drums and backing vocals – “singing and drumming” as Eilen puts it.

Jerry Miller & Jason Beek – Thornbury Theatre 30/3/16

Johnny Sciascia – Thornbury Theatre 30/3/16

Eilen and band gave generously of their time playing for over two hours, which encompassed 22 songs all up.

Since last touring Australia, Eilen Jewell has given birth to a baby daughter named Mavis. Her last song of the night is ostensibly about her, and appropriately titled Songbird. “Mavis” is an old fashioned name for a songbird.

It was a great pleasure to watch Eilen and her band in the civilised and comfortable surrounds of the grand Thornbury Theatre,  after  previously seeing her perform two concerts on the sticky carpets at Brunswick Music Club and the Corner Hotel.

Eilen Jewell Set List

1. Worried Mind
2. Hallelujah Band
3. Rain Roll In
4. Where They Never Say Your Name
5. Heartache Boulevard
6. High Shelf Booze
7. Here with Me
8. Bang, Bang, Bang
9. Rio Grande
10. Santa Fe
11. Rich Man’s World
12. Dusty Boxcar Walls
13. Needle and Thread
14. Mess Around
15. Drop Down Daddy
16. Fist City
17. Warning Signs
18. Sea of Tears
19. I Remember You
20. Queen of the Minor Key
21. If You Catch Me Stealing

Encore

1. Songbird

Black Hearts, Easter Bunnies & Buffering

Black Heart Bart – Caulfield 26/3/16

My Saturday afternoon plans were disrupted, so I arrived much later at Caulfield than I had anticipated. This was due to the unexpected visit from an old friend whom I had not seen for about 15 years. We go back a long way, to when we were both eight or nine at boarding school in Mansfield. We reconnected in 2001, and have mostly kept in touch with Christmas greetings every year.

I really could not, nor did I wish to, curtail her visit, so I got to Caulfield an hour later than planned, totally missing Petits Filous race, which she won fairly easily. She had already left the course when I arrived, so I failed to even get a photo of her.

However, I was compensated by seeing former West Australian Black Heart Bart winning Race 7, the Group 3 Victoria Handicap.

He’s pretty boy with an almost white heart marking on his forehead.

Black Heart Bart in the mounting yard

Caulfield Racecourse was all abuzz with Easter cheer, and very noisy, what with a covers band, and some kind of children’s entertainment competing for attention with the usual racing broadcasts. Kids were everywhere and there was a fair crowd in attendance. There was also an easter egg hunt for the kids and for adults, which I was not in the least interested in contesting.

I only stayed for two races and also took the opportunity to watch the two Group 1 races in Sydney on the big screen.

As Jameka was scratched from the Vinery Stud Stakes, it was a wide open affair and was won by 30/1 shot Side Gaze, with NZ filly Valley Girl running second and Happy Hannah, who only got into the field because Jameka was scratched, running third.

Preferment won the BMW from stablemates Who Shot Thebarman and Grand Marshall, another Group 1 trifecta for the Chris Waller stable.

Anyway, back to Caulfield and race 6, which was the Catanach Jewellers Handicap, a race over 1800 metres.

The amusingly named Ungrateful Ellen started as favourite and beat Mildura Cup winner Gingerboy by a short margin. Himalaya Dream was third.

Ungrateful Ellen in the pre parade ring

Gingerboy in the pre parade ring

Himalaya Dream on his way to the barriers

Race 6 down the straight – Himalaya Dream leads with Gingerboy & Ungrateful Ellen about to overtake him

As previously mentioned, Black Heart Bart won race 7, the Victoria Handicap carrying top weight. He beat home Charmed Harmony who set the pace and Eclair Choice.

Charmed Harmony in the mounting yard

Eclair Choice in the mounting yard

Black Heart Bart in the winners rug posing for photos

Before heading home, I checked out the stalls area to see if Last Typhoon (Typhoon Tracy’s only foal) had arrived. He was there, with a group of women admiring him. I assume one or other of them was his owner. They got the strapper to bring him out for a pat, which of course I took advantage of myself. He’s a friendly young horse, obviously sweet natured. He was then taken off for a walk, which where I snapped the following photo.

Last Typhoon in the walking ring

He had no luck in his race and finished a distant 12th.

On Saturday night, tough old Australian sprinter Buffering won the Al Quoz Sprint from a top class field. He’s now 8 years old, but appears to be getting even better with age. He’s one of the last sprinters still around who raced against Black Caviar in her heyday.

And on Thursday night at Moonee Valley, Peter Moody ended his training career on a high note, when Flamberge won the Group 1 William Reid Stakes, by a nose from Holler, with Japonisme running third closely behind.

It will be strange not seeing Peter Moody at the track as he’s always been there every time I’ve attended. He’s a top bloke and deserves his place in racing history for the way he handled the great Black Caviar’s career.

Racing in Melbourne is pretty uninteresting from now on, so I doubt I’ll attend many races until the spring. I’ll miss my Saturday afternoons at the track, but no doubt will find other things to blog about.

For a start, I have two concerts to attend this week, the first Jason Isbell tomorrow night at the Melbourne Recital Centre, and the lovely Eilen Jewell will be playing at Thornbury Theatre on Wednesday.

I was going to see Frazey Ford at Caravan Music Club on Friday, but the person I was going with cannot attend, so I’m giving it a miss.

Music & The Machine–An Enchanting Evening

Dave Rawlings Machine – photo from ABC RN Facebook

This is the first opportunity I have had to post about the Dave Rawlings Machine concert at the Palais last Friday night.

Seeing the Gillian Welch / Dave Rawlings duo a fortnight ago, certainly didn’t jade the pallet for more divine music from the pair.

We had better seats this time, four rows from the front, so even though, disappointingly, photos were not permitted, it didn’t in any way detract from the pleasure of the night’s entertainment.

It was quite a different set up and sound. The added accompaniments of Willie Watson on violin, banjo and guitar, Brittany Haas on violin and Paul Kowert on double bass delivered a deeper and richer sonic landscape; quite bluegrassy in fact.

In the Dave Rawlings Machine, David Rawlings assumes lead vocals, while Gillian Welch sings background harmonies and plays her rhythm guitar, though she did sing a couple of songs as lead. Gillian’s voice is warm and honey coloured and stands out even when several male vocalists are singing harmonies.

Willie Watson added his distinctive voice to many of the songs and was lead vocalist on Stewball, a traditional ditty about a racehorse He was formerly a member of Old Crow Medicine Show, so I’ve seen him before performing with them. And Paul Kowerts also took the lead on the gospel inspired He Will Set Your Fields On Fire.

As was the case in the Gillian Welch concert, there was an intermission of approximately 30 minutes half way through the show, where the band goes off to do mysterious things (David Rawlings words) and the audience does likewise.

However, we didn’t go next door to Luna Park and ride on the Scenic Railway as the band purportedly did and cheerfully admitted when they returned on stage for the second set.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have been driving to all their Australian concerts, crossing the Nullabor early in their tour, performing shows at Perth and Adelaide, then Sydney, Canberra, Bangalow and Melbourne. They have an aversion to flying, which explains why it took them 11 years to return.

Both the Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings Machine shows were wonderful in diverse ways, so I’m glad I seized the opportunity to see them this time around. I doubt if they’ll be back this way anytime soon.

Setlist (from Setlist.fm)

1. The Weekend

2. Bodysnatchers

3. Pilgrim (You Can't Go Home)

4. Wayside/Back in Time

5. To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) (Ryan Adams cover)

6. Bells of Harlem

7. Keep It Clean (Charley Jordan cover)

8. The Trip

9. It's Too Easy

Intermission

10. Ruby

11. The Last Pharaoh

12. He Will Set Your Fields on Fire (Bill Monroe cover)

13. Sweet Tooth

14. I Hear Them All / This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie cover)

15. Stewball ([traditional] cover)

16. Short Haired Woman Blues

17. Queen Jane Approximately (Bob Dylan cover)

Encore 1:

18. Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch cover)

19. Method Acting / Cortez the Killer

Encore 2:

20. The Weight (The Band cover)

21. Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby ([traditional] cover)

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Music Festival time is only a few weeks off, when music lovers in Australia are spoilt for choice.

I’ve got tickets to five upcoming shows in March, April and June.

I’m looking forward to seeing Jason Isbell at Melbourne Recital Centre on 29 March. His opening act is non other than the delightful Eilen Jewell, whom I’m catching again the following night in a headline show at Thornbury Theatre.

On April Fool’s Day Frazey Ford (of The Be Good Tanyas fame) is at Caravan Music Club, and local singer writers Liz Stringer and Suzannah Espie are performing there together on 21 April.

And in June I’m seeing John Mellencamp at Rod Laver Arena, courtesy of a Ticketek Gift Voucher from Nu Country.

Happy New Year 2016

First cat photo of 2016 – Talya on my computer chair 2/1/16

Talya hates having her photo taken. When you point a camera at her she invariably starts washing herself and ignores all cajolements to cooperate. So I had to be fast to get the above shot and catch her mid wash.

I spent New Year’s eve watching episodes of Wolf Hall, the highly regarded BBC TV Series based on Hilary Mantel’s novel of the same name and its sequel Bring Up The Bodies.  I was given the DVD for Christmas and was pleased to receive it as I’d given it as a present to two friends, and hadn’t bothered to acquire a copy for myself.

It certainly lived up to the critical praise that has been heaped on it.

In a word, it is stunning: the costumes, sets, and acting were all first class. The attention to detail as regards the period setting (1500 to 1535) during the time of Henry VIII is commendable. Nothing jarred as anachronous, the lighting being predominantly candlelit and sombre, setting the mood of the times.

Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell is superb, as is Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn and the support cast are spot on character wise.

I thought the screen version of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was excellent and one of the best I’ve seen. Wolf Hall is just as good.

Hopefully the long awaited third and final book of Hilary Mantel’s take on the life of Thomas Cromwell will be published this year.

So far, reading the lists of books expected to be published in 2016 have left me disappointed, with nothing much taking my fancy, and books by my favourite living authors being in the main missing from the lists.

However, dare I hope that the 10 year wait for the 25th Anniversary edition of John Crowley’s Little, Big will be over this year. Every year since I subscribed to the edition I’ve been hopeful of seeing it finally published. This year may be the one where I will finally hold it in my hands. The latest Newsletter on the edition envisages the book going to press in March 2016, May 2016 at the latest.

I have several musical treats in store early in 2016 – Gillian Welch and David Rawlings being the most highly anticipated. That’s in February.

In late March I’ve booked for a Jason Isbell concert at Melbourne Recital Centre. It’s a fabulous venue, so it will be a treat to see him there, after putting up with a stand up show at a pub venue the last time.

Eilen Jewell and her band are also expected to be touring in March  2016. Hopefully she will also play at a decent venue like Thornbury Theatre or Memo Music Hall or even the Recital Centre.

There’s only a little over a month to go before the first Group 1 of the Autumn Racing season is scheduled.

I’ve been missing going to the races, so yesterday I attended a low key meeting at Moonee Valley. The main attraction was the promising three year old filly Love Days having her third start. She’d won her first two in dominant fashion, so there was something of a hype surrounding her. I’m chary of  hyped youngsters these days as they eventually disappoint, but just in case they are the new Black Caviar, I’m always interested in seeing them in the flesh.

Love Days at Moonee Valley 2/1/16

It was pleasant being back at the track with all the pretty horses, but certainly not a day for successful punting. I had one bet on Orion in Race 2 shortly after I reached the track, but he missed out on a place, so I eschewed wasting my money on anything after that.

The majority of winners over the afternoon were long shot outsiders, and that also proved the case when Race 5, the Gold Carat was run.

Love Days was the hot favourite, but she had a torrid run, three wide for most of the race, and a clever ride by top jockey Damian Oliver resulted in 20/1 shot Rocky Boombao winning the race, lowering the colours of Love Days who couldn’t catch him and finished second.

Rocky Boombao steals a lead in the Gold Carat.

Rocky Boombao returns to scale

The most interesting race of the day was the Perth Cup at Ascot and it was won by the wonderful staying mare *Delicacy who started as the  top weight, carrying 59kg. She defied history with her win, being the first mare to win the race at that weight. She certainly has delivered on her promise of the 2015 Autumn where she won two Derbys and two Oaks and was awarded Australian Champion Three Year Old Filly of 2015.

There’s a possibility that she might contest the Australian Cup at Flemington in March. I hope so, as I’d love to see her in the flesh.

With that I wish everyone a rewarding and interesting 2016 as I hope for myself.

* Delicacy unfortunately sustained a tendon injury in the Perth Cup and has been retired. It’s a disappointing but a commendable decision by her owner. However, the consolation prize is that her younger stable mate Perfect Reflection who defeated Delicacy in the Kingston Town Classic will possibly be contesting the Australian Guineas in March at Flemington.

Queen of the Minor Key - Eilen Jewell Rocks!

Eilen Jewell live at The Corner Hotel – 22 March 2012

A fabulous night was had by all on Thursday night at the Corner Hotel, where Eilen Jewell  performed her first show in Australia on her current tour.

There were two support acts, Sweet Jean, who are Melbourne singer -songwriters,  Sime Nugent and Alice Keath, who play soulful folk music, and Cold Heart, who were a sort of honky tonk band – chalk and cheese in fact.

It was shortly after 10.00pm that the curtains swept back to reveal Eilen’s band, sans Eilen, playing an introduction that sounded like the opening notes of her song Warning Signs. Then the leading lady swept onto the stage, and picking up her guitar, launched into the first track on the Queen of the Minor Key CD, I Remember You, a smoky, sultry song with delicious dark lyrics that go like this:

“I remember you
You were full of broken bones
I tried to bring you cigarettes
You said just leave me alone
I remember you
You were locked in a padded room
I tried to teach you solitaire
You just hollered at the moon”

She upped the tempo with Warning Signs which, with Jerry Miller’s guitar licks, sounds like an old 50s rock number.   

Eilen then paused to introduce the next song, Bang, Bang, Bang, a tongue in cheek ditty about Cupid, stating that rather than being a force for good, he is actually a sociopath, who cares not who his arrows sting. In Eilen’s song he fires a gun. The sociopath motif was played out over the evening, when somehow the logic involving sociopaths, become synonymous for women, as in some women are sociopaths, ergo all women are sociopaths. Eilen was tickled by this idea as were the audience and it was applied again to the Loretta Lynn song Deep As Your Pocket which followed Bang, Bang, Bang.

Like her name, Eilen Jewell was in sparkling form, and her fabulous band comprising Jerry Miller on guitar, Johnny Sciascia on upright bass, and Jason Beek on drums and vocal harmonies, matched her bright performance with great accompaniments.

I think this show was even better than the one I saw at the East Brunswick Club two years ago.

We were treated to 18 dazzling songs, drawn from across her four records, plus one – Twelve Gates To The City - from the gospel group Sacred Shakers, a side project in which she plays with another group of musicians that include some of her current band members.

She ended her set with a great rendition of her version of the old Johnny Kidd song, Shakin’ All Over, where the band performed an extended jam that went on for quite a while.

Eilen Jewell live at the Basement Discs – Friday 23 March 2012

And of course I went to see her again at the Basement Discs on Friday. It was a full-house, a rare occurrence for the shop. Fortunately I arrived early, so was able to peg out my regular spot, before the hordes descended into the basement.

It was of course another delightful show, albeit much shorter in length, but with a few different songs. And I did get my CDs and a poster I purchased at the Corner show, signed.

Set List at Corner Hotel

1. I Remember You
2. Warning Signs
3. Bang Bang Bang
4. Big As Your Pocket (Loretta Lynn)
5. Heartache Boulevard
6. High Shelf Booze
7. Too Hot To Sleep
8. Reckless
9. Restless (Carl Perkins)
10. Gotta Get Right
11. Twelve Gates To The City (Trad)
12. Santa Fe
13. Where They Never Say Your Name
14. Sea Of Tears
15. Rain Roll In
16. Fist City (Loretta Lynn)
17. Shakin’ All Over (Johnny Kidd)

Encore

1. Queen Of The Minor Key

Set List at Basement Discs

1. Bang, Bang, Bang
2. Reckless
3. Santa Fe
4. Dusty Boxcar Wall (Eric Andersen)
5. Queen Of The Minor Key
6. If You Catch Me Stealing

More Soul – two diverse in store performances at Basement Discs

This week Basement Discs hosted two very different, nevertheless very talented young artists from the USA. 

The first of these was Krystle Warren (pictured above) who is touring Australia for the first time, and performed a moving and unusual short set, in store on Wednesday.  Her music is minimalist, but her voice and songs more than make up for it, her songs being masterful tales of love gained and lost, and her voice being soulful and expressive . She has been compared to Joni Mitchell in the way she she uses her voice, but I thought she sounded a bit like Joan Armatrading.

  

Today the engaging and genial Ben Sollee entertained the lunchtime crowd at Basement Discs with a charming performance, showcasing his expertise on his instrument of choice, the cello.

He hails from Kentucky and grew up in a musical family, adopting the cello when he was in high school - he fell in love with the weird sounds it can make, so he explained. He trained in classical music but was influenced by the jazz, blues and celtic music of his family. This explains his unusual approach to playing the cello, which covers all the aforementioned genres and then some.

He is also a very gifted song writer and has a pleasant singing voice - a sweet tenor.

Next up at Basement Discs is the wonderful Eilen Jewell on Friday 23rd March. I’ll be seeing her the night before at the Corner Hotel, but still wouldn’t miss her intimate in store for quids.

This Saturday, I am for the first time going to the Caravan Music Club in Oakleigh, rather a long trek for us in the north of the city, but purported to be a great venue. It should be worth the effort as Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen are playing.  Chris Hillman is one of the pioneers of country rock, and played in such bands as The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Desert Rose.

Autumn Racing – A warming of the cockles

Karuta Queen returns tomorrow at Warwick Farm

Up to now, other than the triumphant resumption of Black Caviar last week, there has not been much to write about on the Australian racing scene.

Sure, there was the drama surrounding the upheld protest of second against first in the Magic Millions Two Year Old Classic, where Driefontein eventually was declared the winner over her stable mate No Looking Back , and there was also the running of Blue Diamond Previews a few weeks back where the more fancied runners were outgunned by long shots The Travelling Man (colts) and Malasun (fillies).  There is no Sepoy this year so far, though I am prepared to be surprised.

Anyway, tomorrow at both Caulfield and Warwick Farm there are a few races worth watching, simply because a few stars of the spring carnival are making an appearance, most notably the very pretty and speedy filly Karuta Queen, who recently won a trial by 17½ lengths.

Karuta Queen will be contesting a sprint over 1000 metres, race 3 on the cards at Warwick Farm. It has been raining heavily  all week in Sydney, so if the racing does go ahead, the track will be heavy going.  This shouldn’t bother the little queen as she handles all surfaces. Unanimously would have been her biggest competition, but he will instead race at Caulfield, so that leaves grey mare Social Rank as her major opposition.

At Caulfield, all eyes will be on VRC Oaks winner Mosheen in the Listed Australasia Stakes. It is run over 1200 metres, which may seem a little short for a staying filly, but Mosheen has won over shorter distances in the past. She is the class act in the race, but Rifleman , who has won his last two starts, may give her a run for the money, as might Secret Hills, who ran second to Helmet in the Guineas Prelude in the spring. American Dream also has a chance.

The weather in Melbourne has been fine all week and no rainfall is expected, hence the track will be dead to good.

I’m interested to see how hyped colt Jimando performs in the Listed Emirates Airline Stakes (1100 metres). Will he live up to the hype? Apparently he’s a  big, strong, young fellow, and the hype is based around his one and only start back in October which he won it by 3¼ lengths and the high regard his trainer has for him. His main opposition appears to come from the filly Formidable and other colts If I Could and Timely Truce.

The first Group One of the Autumn racing season is only a week away. From then on, many of the horses who caught the eye in Spring will be beginning their autumn campaigns. Caulfield Cup  heroine, Southern Speed, began with a bang, unexpectedly winning the John Dillon Stakes on Australia Day. She is scheduled to compete against Black Caviar in the Orr Stakes next weekend, representing quality opposition for the unbeaten mare in her first start over 1400 metres. Sure to be a fascinating race.

Others due to resume shortly are super duper three year old Manawanui, old favourite Shoot Out ,who returns after a long break and with a different trainer (Chris Waller).  Super sprinter Hay List is also due to resume soon having recovered from a life threatening leg infection. Champion three year old Sepoy will have only one more run in Australia before heading to Dubai and eventually Ascot. He’ll be sorely missed, as will Helmet, who is also destined to finish his career overseas but will race a few more times in Australia before that occurs.

I’m also looking forward to Pinker Pinker’s return which is likely to be in the Futurity Stakes on February 18th, which is also on Black Caviar’s schedule.

Music News

Also warming the cockles of my heart is the news that the delightful Eilen Jewell will be touring again this year. She has been invited to perform at the East Coast Blues Festival, but will also be doing sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Not to be missed!