Ryan Adams Lights Up Margaret Court Arena

Ryan Adams & The Unknown Band live 26 May 2017

Margaret Court Arena is the little sister stadium to Rod Laver Arena and named to honour Australian Tennis star Margaret Court. It will probably be renamed after the said famous tennis star recently expressed homophobic views in a letter to the West Australian newspaper, stating that she would no longer fly with Qantas Airlines owing to  the Qantas CEO ‘s support for same sex marriage.

Ryan Adams, the star of Friday night’s stellar show remarked on twitter that as a Pagan he strongly supports marriage equality and  has since dubbed the venue Marriage Equality Arena. Ryan Adams has never been one for political comment, but since the advent of Trump he, like many other artists, has become more vocal on current social and political issues.

A sign of the New World dystopia in which we live these days, and as a reaction to recent terrorist attacks, there was a long queue at the approach to the entry doors of the arena, where every concert goer was individually searched and scanned before they could enter. This led to a delay in the evening’s time table, not necessarily affecting the support act, The Middle Kids, but causing the Ryan Adams’ set to start later than scheduled. At least that’s what Ryan Adams said at the end of his two hour performance; due to a curfew, rushing through the last two songs in lieu of an encore. 

Anyway, on to the concert…

After enduring the security screening on entering the arena, my friend B and I, after a brief visit to the Merchandise Table,  found our seats and discovered that they weren’t too bad at all, a centre spot on the lower level that provided an excellent view of the stage, but a bit far away for decent non noisy photos. It was my first time at Margaret Court Arena, so I was not sure what to expect. As stadiums go, it was quite intimate in vibe and has a capacity for about 6,500 to 7000 people.

I did not take much heed to the support act other than to note that they were very loud. We basically caught the last half of their set by the time we took our seats.

After watching the roadies set up the stage for Ryan Adams, it was about an hour’s wait for the main act. I’m glad I opted for seated tickets, and didn’t envy the general admission standing crowd. At my age I don’t think I could stand for however many hours they were obliged to.

Favouring a low tech set, Ryan Adams decorates the stage with big amplifiers and banks of TV screens, and stuffed toy cats - three tigers, what appeared to be an ocelot, and a cardboard cut out of a cat perched on one the amplifiers.

Stage being set up

So it was approaching 9.30pm before Ryan Adams and The Unknown Band took the stage and launched into the first song of the set, Do You Still Love Me?,  the opening track on Ryan Adams latest album Prisoner, then followed with the second  track on Heartbreaker – Ryan’s first solo recording of 2000 – To Be Young.

Prisoner is a really likeable album that grows on you the more you play it, so it was no trial to be treated to quite a few songs from the record – Outbound Train, Prisoner, Doomsday and To Be Without You (my favourite song on Prisoner) – interspersed with older tunes from Ryan Adams 15 album back catalogue.

The Unknown Band sounded great for most of the songs, though I found myself longing for Ryan’s former band The Cardinals when they played songs from that era (2005-2009), ie Magnolia Mountain, Let It Ride etc., still vividly recalling the concert at the Forum in January 2009 – one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. The arrangements seemed strange and somewhat clunky to me who has heard better versions in the past.

Ryan Adams rocking out (with tiger)

There was very little chit chat from Ryan during the concert, the songs being performed in fast sequence with hardly a pause, Ryan occasionally performing solo in the midst of what was a predominantly rock n roll set, his beautiful voice as always carrying clearly across the expanse of the arena.

The Melbourne audience was, as is generally the case, quietly appreciative and I did not witness any bad behaviour,  acknowleged by Ryan, referring to his recent show at Byron Bay which was spoiled by disinterested attendees who chatted loudly throughout his set.

This may be the last time that Ryan Adams will visit Australia, so I’m glad I got to see him perform live one more time.  Ryan Adams suffers from Meniere's disease, a chronic disorder of the inner ear that is exacerbated by long distance flights.

He’s a real trooper of a performer who gives his all in concerts despite his disability.

Ryan Adams Setlist

1. Do You Still Love Me?

2. To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)

3. Gimme Something Good

4. Two

5. Dirty Rain

6. Outbound Train

7. Stay With Me

8. Prisoner

9. Magnolia Mountain

10. Fix It

11. Wonderwall (Oasis cover)

12. Doomsday

13. When the Stars Go Blue

14. My Winding Wheel

15. Invisible Riverside

16. Let It Ride

17. Cold Roses

18. Kim

19. To Be Without You

20. Everybody Knows

21. Mockingbird

22. Peaceful Valley

23. New York, New York

24. Shakedown on 9th Street

Winter is Coming…

But before it really hits Melbourne, I have several interesting events to attend by the end of May, that involve literature and music.

I could include art in that, but I’m holding off on the Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria for a month or so, and plan to visit when the crowds have died down.

The Wheeler Centre is having a mini literature festival this May and two of the International writers who will be visiting Melbourne at the time are of interest to me, so I’ve booked tickets to see them at local venue, Northcote Town Hall.

The writers in question are American authors Colson Whitehead, author of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Underground Railroad, and George Saunders, renowned for his short stories, whose latest work is also his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. I have read The Underground Railroad on my Kindle and found it an absorbing impressive novel and quite harrowing, the subject matter dealing as it does with black  slavery in the USA.

As for George Saunders, I have copies of his first two collections of short stories, Civilwarland In Bad Decline and Pastoralia, both of which I enjoyed enormously, the quirkyness of his writing style and subject matter appealing to my taste for peculiar literature. I am currently reading Lincoln in the Bardo on my Kindle and it certainly is a strange novel, which I am not sure I’m enjoying all that much.

So seeing both these authors soon, George Saunders on 21 May and Colson Whitehead on 24 May, will be interesting to say the least.

I have noted that Irish author Anne Enright is also part of the mini literary carnival, but have eschewed attending her event as I hated her Booker winning novel The Gathering and consequently felt no desire to read any of her other books.

It will be a busy week as far as events are concerned for the long awaited and highly anticipated concert of my all time favourite singer songwriter, Ryan Adams is on 26 May at Margaret Court Arena.

That will be the icing on the cultural cake as far as I’m concerned.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

Global power may currently be in the hands of a scary three year old in the body of a grown man, a sinister former member of the KGB and an ambitious inscrutable oriental power,  but I try not to let that bother me overmuch.

What can you do?

My answer is to find things that make you cheerful and take your mind off the dire new world – world war three  will happen, or then again, it may not.

I have several pleasant things to look forward to in books, music and horse racing.

Firstly, books.  I was pretty underwhelmed by the literature on offer at the start of 2016, but I did find some gems published last year after it was almost over.

I’m currently reading A Gentleman In Moscow by American writer Amor Towles, an author unfamiliar to me, even though he has one other novel, The Rules of Civility, published in 2011.

A Gentleman In Moscow is a real find; a charming and thoroughly enjoyable novel set in Moscow, covering the years 1922 through to the 1950s. 

Though  the novel is set in Moscow in the period following the Russian Revolution,  it is mostly confined to the grand old Hotel Metropol where the novel’s protagonist, Count Alexander Rostov, is detained under house arrest. 

It’s a novel to be enjoyed for its elegant and witty prose style, rather than page turning action.  However, there is plenty to keep the reader amused and beguiled as Count Rostov settles into his prison and adapts to its limitations. He’s a likeable character, a man with good taste and manners -  a true gentleman- who enjoys the good things life has to offer in his confinement, and treasures the friends he makes along the way.

Events outside the Metropol are not ignored; the tumultuous events of post revolutionary Russia  intrude on the charmed lives of the Hotel Metropol residents every so often.

Other 2016 published novels I was taken with are Margaret Atwood’s wicked take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest Hagseed, and Moonglow, a fictional biography by Michael Chabon, wonderfully written as you’d expect. I also read some super short story collections, Joan Aiken’s The People In The Castle, Get In Trouble by Kelly Link and Children of The New World by Alexander Weinstein.

This year’s fiction offerings are far more promising with novels by favourite authors Neal Stephenson (The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O), Nick Harkaway (Gnomen), Phillip Pullman (The Book of Dust) and John Crowley (Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr)  all to be published this year.

As for music, I have three concerts to attend in the next few months, with the Dixie Chicks on April 2 at Rod Laver Arena. My all time favourite artist Ryan Adams will be performing live in May at Margaret Court Arena. In July I’m off to see America, the 1970s band, best known for the song “Horse With No Name”, at Hamer Hall.

Having been awed by the amazing performance of Winx in the George Ryder Stakes last weekend, I had an overwhelming urge to go and see her in her final race for autumn, in three weeks time at Randwick, in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. I have decided to fly to Sydney for the day and have booked my flight and purchased a ticket to the event, which also covers public transport fares to Randwick Racecourse.  So a sort of mini adventure is on the cards for Saturday 8 April. I don’t care what the weather is like – rain or shine will suit me either way.

Rebecca, if you’re reading this, I can get you a race book (can’t promise to get it signed, but I’ll try) and hopefully a Winx flag. Send me an email at pollycatster@gmail.com if interested.

If you’re wondering at my folly, check out this video of Winx winning the 2017 George Ryder Stakes last Saturday.  Be mindful that the track was a heavy 10 (Heaviest category track, very wet, towards saturation). All the racing fraternity are lost for words at her latest win, but I can’t help but rejoice that a racehorse of her calibre is back with us again so soon after Black Caviar stole our hearts away. 

Blue Stars & Birthday Greetings–Ryan Adams Shines at the Forum Theatre

Ryan Adams rocking out at the Forum Theatre 19/7/15

It was a chilly night in old Melbourne town last Sunday evening, and  keen fans queued early to get good positions in the general admission sold out show, myself among them (I arrived at around 6.25). There was a delay in opening the doors, so it was around 7.20pm that the audience was finally permitted to enter the lavish interior of the Forum Theatre, where the Gods smile down on the masses from their plinths on the walls and along the aisles.

I was disappointed to discover that my favourite booth up the front, along with the other front booths, was reserved. It was my understanding that General Admission is on a first come, first served basis and I was unaware that seats could be booked.

So, unwilling at my age to stand for hours in the mosh pit, I was obliged to grab what seating I could  farther back than I would have liked – hence the less than perfect photos I managed to snap.

All the above inconveniences were more than compensated for by the quality of entertainment on offer, and that included the support act, American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis.

Jenny Lewis live at the Forum Theatre 19/7/15

Admittedly I am not all that au fait with Jenny Lewis’ artistic output, possessing only Rabbit Fur Coat in my CD collection, which I have not listened to for years. Her latest record Voyager was produced by Ryan Adams, so naturally she sang a few songs from it, Just One Of The Guys and She’s Not Me are the tunes I recognised from my You Tube research on the artist leading up the show. Originally she was associated with rock band Rilo Kiley and in my opinion the songs she played last night from that era of her career were the winners. Acid Tongue is a great song from her first solo record, whereas Portions For Foxes  dates back to her time with Rilo Kiley.

Her set was engaging and entertaining and she looked a treat playing her rainbow hued guitar, dressed in a white trouser suit.  She had an ace band supporting her, but I’m unable to find details of their names, though several were female.

Ryan Adams and The Shining trooped onto the stage at around 9.15pm and instantly launched into the first track on the recent Ryan Adams Self Titled album, Gimme Something Good, closely following that with the bouncy Let It Ride from Cold Roses.

I felt the first half of the show was a little flat, but the band warmed up over the two hours they played and by the end of the night I was totally enthralled. The set list encompassed songs from most of Ryan Adams back catalogue of albums and included many favourites of mine – Oh My Sweet Carolina (Jenny Lewis joined him for this), When The Stars Go Blue, La Cienega Just Smiled, and particularly Sweet Illusions, rarely performed live, which I was really hoping he would sing. There were other rarities, in terms of the concerts I have witnessed, like I See Monsters, Nobody Girl and To Be Young.

It was mostly a rock n roll concert with several songs ending in extended jams, where Ryan was able to channel his inner rock child. Quieter ballads were interspersed with the rockier numbers so it was a wisely chosen sequence of songs.

The last few Ryan Adams shows I have attended were dimly lit, but Sunday night you could actually see Ryan’s face distinctly. He suffers from Meniere’s Disease, an affliction of the inner ear, and bright flashing lights exacerbate the problem. He obviously is concerned about the lighting in his shows, and found a sympathetic lighting technician in Gigi to whom he composed a Happy Birthday song off the cuff in gratitude. It was funny and clever. He also passed a birthday cake into the audience to be delivered to the lady in question in the lighting section at the middle of the theatre.

Gigi created some wonderful lighting effects, the twinkling blue stars in the background being particularly appropriate.

The Shining are a completely different band to the Cardinals (Ryan Adams former band) both in style and sound. The Cardinals had a touch of country twang and gorgeous ringing guitars, whereas The Shining are more a straight rock n roll band. They are guitarist Mike Viola,  bassist Charlie Stavish, drummer Freddie Bokkenheuser and keyboardist Daniel Clarke.

It was great to hear New York, New York played in the fast tempo it was originally recorded in. All the previous times I’ve seen Ryan Adams live, it has been sung in a distinctly slow bluesy fashion – very nice too.

I ended up not going to the second concert, as the friend I was accompanying cried off, so I found another taker for the tickets, a Ryan Adams fan, who was pleased to purchase them at a discounted price.

Ryan Adams and The Shining played for a solid two hours, so it was after midnight by the time I got home. As a result I felt rather tired yesterday, so felt relieved I did not have to go through the hassle of getting to the theatre, waiting in the queue etc. etc. again.

And the verdict?

Every Ryan Adams concert I have attended (seven now) has been different and you never really know what to expect. This year’s concert was probably not the best I’ve seen, but it was very enjoyable nonetheless. I’ve always thought that the Cardinals show at the Forum in January 2009 was the best, closely followed by his solo show at The Regent in March 2012. Sunday’s show is probably my third favourite Ryan Adams concert.

Anyway, it’s always a thrill to see Ryan Adams live in concert – I’ll certainly attend for as long as I am able.

Ryan Adams Set List

1. Gimme Something Good (Self Titled)
2. Let It Ride (Cold Roses)
3. Stay With Me (Self Titled)
4. Dirty Rain (Ashes & Fire)
5. This House Is Not For Sale (Love Is Hell)
6. Dear Chicago (Demolition)
7. Magnolia Mountain (Cold Roses)
8. My Winding Wheel (Heartbreaker)
9. To Be Young (Heartbreaker)
10. Peaceful Valley (Jacksonville City Nights)
11. Kim (Self Titled)
12. Oh My Sweet Carolina (Heartbreaker)
13. When the Stars Go Blue (Gold)
14. Shakedown on 9th Street (Heartbreaker)
15. My Baby Don't Understand Me (Natalie Prass cover)
16. New York, New York (Gold)
17. Improv song: happy birthday GiGi
18. I See Monsters (Love Is Hell)
19. Sweet Illusions (Cold Roses)
20. La Cienega Just Smiled (Gold)
21. Trouble (Self Titled)
22. Nobody Girl (Gold)

Encore

1. Come Pick Me Up (Heartbreaker)

My next musical treat is Shane Nicholson at Caravan Music Club on 8th August. He has a new album “Hell Breaks Loose” and will be launching it at the Caravan.

Only Four More Sleeps…

…until the Ryan Adams concert at the Forum Theatre on Sunday night.

Concert Poster for Ryan Adams 2015 Australian Tour

Needless to say, I’m very much looking forward to the concert, which has Jenny Lewis as the support act. I’m also going to the second concert on Monday at the same venue.

I know this is not the sort of thing I would normally do, but I originally purchased a ticket for the first show at the pre-sale. However, the friend I was planning to go with was too late to obtain a ticket as they sold out in a flash, so she got tickets for both of us to the second show. I was initially intending to sell my extra ticket, but changed my mind and decided to attend both concerts, Ryan Adams after all being my favourite singer-songwriter.

Ryan Adams is currently in New Zealand and has created something of a Twitter sensation by championing a stray kitten that he came across in a cemetery when walking off his jet lag his first night in Auckland. His twitter campaign has resulted in the cat being rescued.

I find it endearing that he has a special “speaking to cats” voice.

The concert poster above is typical of his latest tour posters, all of them having a supernatural theme (reflecting the name of his band, The Shining), but I’m a tad disappointed that the Aussie one does not feature cats.

The last time I time I saw Ryan Adams live was in March 2012 when he performed a solo tour. It was a wonderful concert that highlighted the beauty of his voice and music. I recommend listening to his solo live concert record “Live at Carnegie Hall”. It’s available as a 6 LP Vinyl set (with 42 tracks), or a ten song CD.

Melbourne is currently in the throes of a very cold snap, so it will warm the cockles, not to mention the body, to experience the special magic of  Ryan Adams live in concert again.

Winter Cheer–Cats, Books & Music

Talya – the blue princess

It has been a while since I last posted about the cats and their political stance. Lucky for them they are unaware of the truly awful Government ruling Australia at present and the general state of the world. No doubt, if they knew, they would think it only their due, that cats are the most popular topic on the Internet.

In their cat world all they care about is keeping warm, filling their bellies and maintaining their cool in the presence of other cats.  This of course involves the services of their human slaves as providers of food and warming pads.

Since winter has drawn in, Willy has taken to spending more time inside and has insisted on using my lap as his resting place. He’s a real burden, a heavy, though warm encumbrance, that certainly limits a person’s movements.  If you have cats, you’ll know how they suck you in. You put up with incredible inconvenience so as not to hurt their feelings and even apologise if you have to inconvenience them.

Willy is a smart cat and has us trained to lift him off the fence when he can’t be bothered getting down by himself. He sits on the pergola outside the kitchen door and miaows. When we answer the “distress” call we have to walk out into the back yard and wait by the fence, while he clambers over the roof, onto the shed roof, then onto the water tank, then the fence, whereupon he stands in a handy lifting down position, so we can get purchase under his belly and remove him from the fence.

 
Willy, looking for a lap to sit on.

I had the bright idea of buying him a cat bed as a substitute for my lap and found one that is self warming.  It has a space blanket layer that interacts with the cat’s body heat to create a snug nest, retaining the cat’s heat and warming the bed.  B thought I was mad to get it and doubted if the cats would take to it.

It arrived the other day and has been tried out by both cats, but Talya has now commandeered it for daytime use on the front verandah, and alas Willy still prefers my knee.

Talya in the self warming cat bed

The political situation between the cats is much the same; they still don’t like each other much, but don’t fight. They engage in stand offs where one cat will sit in the doorway to impede the exit or entry of the other cat. “Ooh, I don’t want to walk too close, he/she might jump me” you see them think.

Cat stand off – Talya is blocking Willy’s access to the door outside.

Monty the cat next door is always in our back garden, but the resident cats avoid him if possible. He’s super friendly, so it’s hard to shoo him away.

Monty – he doesn’t look too friendly here, but it’s an interesting pose.

My last post was about the problem with posting from Windows Live Writer to Blogger. This had something to do with Google+ security settings, which had not been taken into account by Microsoft. There was an outpouring of protest on both the Blogger forum and the Microsoft Live forum to such an extent that Microsoft and Google cooperated in working out a fix.

Let’s hope Microsoft will continue to support Live Writer as it’s the best blogging software there is. Creating posts in Blogger is a real pain it’s so clunky and user unfriendly.

As usual I’ve been reading a lot of books, and lately have read some really excellent novels, one of them being All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr which recently won the Pulitzer Prize.  It’s an outstanding novel set in the second world war, about a German whiz kid boy Werner, and Marie Laure, a blind French girl. the narration alternating between the two as they grow up in those turbulent times and inexorably meet.  Everything written about this novel is true. Highly recommended!

I also really enjoyed Kate Atkinson’s latest novel A God In Ruins, a companion piece to her previous novel Life After Life.  It follows the life of Ursula Todd’s beloved younger brother Teddy as he grows up to become a bomber pilot in the second world war, and his life after the war.  Ursula Todd was the heroine of Life After Life and makes several appearances in A God In Ruins.  I also highly recommend this book. It’s moving and very funny at times.

I’m currently reading Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, his latest, which happens to be a disaster novel. In the first paragraph Earth’s moon explodes and sets the scene for what happens next. I’m barely a quarter of the way through the 800+ pages, but am gripped in the drama of setting up an ark of human heritage in space as the total destruction of  planet Earth draws closer.

I ordered my copy of the book from Barnes & Noble and it’s signed by Neal Stephenson, which is a big thrill as I doubt he’ll ever come to Australia.

Concurrently on my Kindle, when commuting,
I’m reading a collection of short stories called Sisters of the Revolution. I supported a Kickstarter for this collection of speculative feminist fiction by women writers, and received both a physical and digital copy of it.

The stories are all interesting and diverse in subject matter.

The edition has a forward by my friends Jeff and Ann VanderMeer. Jeff won this year’s Nebula Award for his novel Annihilation, the first book in his Southern Reach trilogy. They are very strange novels, dark surrealist fiction. Annihilation is possibly going to be made into a film by Alex Garland (Ex Machina & Never Let Me Go). I have read the trilogy, but must admit found them a bit of a chore.  I’m so over weird fiction, hated all the characters and couldn’t care less what happened to them. I agree with David Mitchell, that characters have to be likeable to sustain the readers interest and sympathy – mine anyway.

On the music scene. I'm looking forward to seeing Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at the Palais Theatre, St Kilda in a week or so. I ordered their new CD The Travelling Kind from Nonesuch Records, mainly because they were offering a limited edition autographed print with the CD. Another thing to be thrilled about – Emmylou and Rodney autographs, something unattainable in person for me.

Five days after the Emmylou & Rodney concert I’m going to see The Milk Carton Kids at the Athenaeum Theatre. I was really impressed with them when they toured here a couple of years ago, so look forward to their show. And in July my favourite singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is performing two shows at the Forum Theatre.

So despite winter’s chill, there are several reasons to be cheerful.

The Warm Glow of Literary Lights

Last night I attended the first of the literary events I had booked for at the Wheeler Centre, that being the double header of married literary lights Claire Tomalin and Michael Frayn.

They are now both 81 years old, but they certainly don’t look it nor had their mental acuity been tempered by age. Both events were interesting in different ways.

Claire Tomalin is a noted biographer of such literary figures as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Samuel Pepys, Percy Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft. She created a storm of controversy when she revealed in her biography of Dickens, that he had long term mistress, for whom he abandoned his wife and children. Claire Tomalin also wrote a biography – The Invisible Woman - of said mistress, Ellen Ternan,  a young actress, who by all accounts led a very interesting life, ending up, after Dickens death, as a respectable woman, managing to keep her relationship with Dickens and her previous less than respectable life a secret until her death.

Claire Tomalin was interviewed by local writer Toni Jordon and spoke at length about her life and works.

She wrote her first book, The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft in her late thirties, her life up to that time being busily filled with her career as Literary Editor for New Statesman and The Sunday Times as well as bringing up her children.

The Wollstonecraft biography was a great success and won the Whitbread Book Award in 1974. I have a copy of the hardcover, but it is not the first edition, which according to Claire Tomalin, was a small issue. My copy is the second edition published in 1975. However I did take it along last night and got it signed by the author.

A somewhat out of focus Claire Tomalin signing books.

The discussion evolved into the question of how Claire Tomalin chooses her biographical subjects. She remarked that in the process of researching and writing a biography she felt as if she was obliged to live their life and she was attracted to subjects that she could love. Her emotional engagement with her biographical subjects was profound and she admitted to weeping when she wrote of their deaths. She makes a point of literally walking in her subjects shoes, traversing on foot the locations in which they lived their lives.

Her favourites, she stated were Mary Wollstonecraft and Samuel Pepys.

It was an engrossing hour of conversation and I was delighted to have been present for it.

The event was pretty well booked out and was held at the Wheeler Centre in the former Barry Hall in the South Wing of the State Library in Little Lonsdale Street. The audience was mostly in the older age group, though I did spot a few young faces.

The Michael Frayn event was a completely different kettle of fish. He was introduced by Chris Mead , the Literary Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, so his emphasis was more on Michael Frayn’s theatrical creations, though the acclaimed literary light is noted for his journalism , novels and screen writing as well as his dramatic works. His segment was titled “How To Begin”, so Michael Frayn began by talking for at least twenty minutes on how he came to a writing career.

Also out of focus, Michael Frayn speaking on the podium.

He was a humorous and entertaining speaker, having a fine sense of irony and an appreciation for the ridiculous things life throws up, relating several stories where he was the butt of the joke.

This year, 2015, is the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel The Tin Men, and he has 10 other novels to his credit. His plays include Copenhagen, Democracy and Noises Off.

He didn’t start to write for the theatre until the 1970s, eschewing the literary form out of prejudice caused by a rejection of his first attempt at theatre in his University days. 

I notice on the Wheeler Centre website that events are recorded for posterity, so you can view some past events about a month after they occurred, should you be interested in checking them out.

It was a chilly day yesterday, Melbourne shivering under an early onset of winter, so it was good to venture out and bask in the warm glow of literature. It’s a pity my photos didn’t turn out well, but I was nervous about taking photos in the venue, so the two photos above are sneak shots hastily snapped on my smallest and not very good camera.

Next Tuesday I am looking forward to seeing the David Mitchell - Jonathan Lethem double header at Deakin Edge in Federation Square.

The horse racing scene is rather dull in Melbourne at the moment with the Group 1 action happening in Adelaide this weekend and in Brisbane throughout late May and June, but I have booked for several concerts over the coming months, the first being Iris Dement on 28 May.

I’m particularly delighted that my favourite artist Ryan Adams is coming in July. Both his Melbourne shows have already sold out, but I managed to get tickets for both nights.

I’ve got winter covered, entertainment wise at least.

Ryan Adams at the Regent Theatre

You wouldn’t think that one man with two guitars, a collection of harmonicas and  a piano, could keep a full house theatre quiet and spellbound for two hours, but last night Ryan Adams did just that.

It was a quite wonderful concert, beautiful and amazing and damn near perfect as concerts go.

Photos were not permitted, so I have had to use the promo photo to illustrate this post. Prior to the start of Ryan’s set, a voice with a strong Scottish accent, rather amusingly, threatened hellfire and damnation to any who even thought to record, photograph or in anyway disrupt the show with annoying devices. 

And thus it was that the capacity audience at the beautiful Regent Theatre was prepared for a night of superlative music. And it delivered in spades

But first I must mention the opening set of Jason Isbell.  I have had the good fortune to see him perform previously when he opened for Justin Townes Earle several years ago, so I knew we in for a quality sweetener. He opened with Tour of Duty, a powerful song about a soldier returning from a final tour of duty, and his vain hopes for the normalcy of civilian life, then followed that with Going It Alone before harking back to his days with the Drive By Truckers and singing his version of one of their hits Danko/Manuel.  Goddamn Lonely Love was the standout on his set list, as was his cover of Richard Thompson’s  Keep Your Distance.  His song about his father, Outfit was later the basis for a joke in one of Ryan Adams lighter moments.  Jason however, is a dynamic performer himself and a scintillating songwriter, so his set, of eight songs in all, was much appreciated by the early arrivals. The rest didn’t know what they were missing.

Jason’s set kicked off at 8.00 pm and lasted approximately 30 minutes, after which there was a short break, so the audience could go off and grab a drink at the bar etc. Alcohol was forbidden in the auditorium.

So it was about 9.00 pm when Ryan Adams stepped onto the stage to a rousing welcome. The first song of 26, was the beautiful Oh My Sweet Carolina, a perfect opener to set the mood for the rest of the show. This was followed by Ashes & Fire, the title track on his latest album, which has been widely acclaimed as a return to form by the mercurial songwriter.

Much to my delight If I am A Stranger was next. In fact the entire set list was a wonderful selection of favourite songs. Highlights for me were Rescue Blues – an awesome version - as some member of the audience called out to which Ryan quipped “Thanks Dad”, Sylvia Plath, a song I love for it’s amazing lyrics, Firecracker, The Hardest Part and the perennial favourite Come Pick Me Up, but truth to tell it was hard to single out any particular song, they were all fantastic. And I really loved Ryan’s tribute to his pussycat, an amusing and perfectly executed ditty called Mr Cat. It had the audience in stitches.

Yes, Ryan Adams was very funny when he wasn’t being serious, and he does take his music very seriously indeed, even if he deprecates it half jokingly.

What was remarkable about seeing Ryan Adams perform solo, was that he can carry a show by himself with ease and grace. The fact that he is a supremely gifted songwriter, singer and musician is made patent in this context. With just Ryan, his guitar and beautiful expressive voice, the songs glow with new meaning and you are entranced by his artistic genius.

More on the voice – Ryan Adams voice has to be one of the best voices in contemporary music. He can sing anything and give the songs he sings depth and meaning. His voice cuts you to the heart, seduces you with its sincerity, and astounds you with its amazing range. He can go from a whisper to the sweetest croon, to a passionate howl in space of one song, The Hardest Part for instance.

At the end of the main show, which finished with Come Pick Me Up, the audience rose as one to accord the man a standing ovation. This happens very rarely in the shows I have been to, but Ryan certainly deserved all the love and reverence accorded him last night. They rose again after the three song encore as Ryan took a bow for the last time.

It was one of,  dare I say, the best show I have ever had the good fortune to witness, up there or even surpassing Leonard Cohen and Lyle Lovett and all the other great artists I’ve seen live.

Set Lists

Jason Isbell set:
Tour Of Duty
Go It Alone
Danko/Manuel
Alabama Pines
Goddamn Lonely Love
Keep Your Distance [cover]
Outfit
Daisy Mae

Ryan Adams Set:
Oh My Sweet Carolina
Ashes and Fire
If I Am A Stranger
Dirty Rain
My Winding Wheel
The Rescue Blues
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Do I Wait
Firecracker
Everybody Knows
Dear Chicago
Sylvia Plath
Let It Ride
English Girls Approximately
Chains of Love
16 Days
The Hardest Part
Lucky Now
Mr Cat
New York, New York
Two
[improv: "My car is broke and what I'm wearing is an outfit" – apropos Jason Isbell’s song Outfit – very funny]
Come Pick Me Up
Encore:
Holy Diver (Dio cover)
Avenues
When Will You Come Back Home

A Hot Day of Racing at Caulfield

Sepoy parading before the Oakleigh Plate

Gee, it was so hot on Saturday – a real sizzler -  that staying out for an extended length of time in the sun was impossible.

I also realised that taking photos in such conditions was less than perfect. The intense glare of the sun emphasised shadows, so most of my photographs of the day are darkish despite the bright background. There’s not much you can do to compensate, as all the professional photographers say that the best light occurs during the morning and late afternoon.

Arriving at the track shortly after the third race, my friend M and I went and had a look at the stalls.  They are in a shaded area, and those horses waiting for their races to come up were being walked around.

Stalls area

Sepoy was recognisable as one of those promenading. He’s a beautiful looking colt, a bright chestnut with a white diamond on his forehead. Also a real good looker, was The Travelling Man, a splendid bay colt with a very pretty head and a So You Think untrimmed forelock. He was my pick for the Blue Diamond, but alas he ran 6th.

The Travelling Man

Then it was time for the 4th race, the Angus Amanasco Stakes, a Group Two race for three year old fillies over 1400 metres.  Soft Sand was the favourite, but she lost out to Shopaholic who defeated Mosheen at her last outing and proved she wasn’t a one hit wonder.

The first Group One of the card was next – the Futurity Stakes where King Mufhasa started favourite and didn’t disappoint, winning narrowly from Pinker Pinker with Adamantium 1.8 lengths in third spot.

Pinker Pinker on her way to the barriers

King Mufhasa posing for the press corps after winning the Futurity Stakes

As it was so hot, we divided our time between hanging on the fence, taking photos at the Mounting Yard,  then retreating to the air conditioned comfort of the Norman Robinson Building.

Sepoy naturally was the favourite for the Oakleigh Plate and he had to lug the top weight of 58 kgs, which in the end defeated him. He lead most of the way, but the weight told on him during the final stages and he was overtaken by outsiders Woorim, Elite Falls and Facile Tigre who finished in that order. The trifecta must have paid a fortune! It’s a pity Sepoy could not have gone out a winner in his last run in Australia, but we can look forward to him competing in Dubai and England.

Favourites don’t often win the Blue Diamond Stakes, but for two years in a row, the favourite has proved the winner -  Sepoy won last year and this year smart filly Samaready took home the diamond. In fact it was a fillies trifecta, with No Looking Back running second and Armed for Action taking out third spot.

Samaready returning to scale, a triumphant Craig Newitt on her back

We stayed for the 8th race the Peter Young Stakes and watched the field in the mounting yard. I finally got a good photo of old Efficient, who because of his light colouring photographed OK...


Efficient parading in the mounting yard

…no so Southern Speed with her dark colouring


Southern Speed in the mounting yard

Imported stayers Lucas Cranach, Illo and Manighar ran first, second, third with Glass Harmonium (another import) in fourth spot. Southern Speed came fifth, but she can redeem herself I’m sure later in the season. 

In Sydney, Rain Affair took out his 9th win in succession in the Apollo Stakes. Shoot Out has shown that he has returned in great form, as he finished second. As the races get longer, he’ll hopefully be back in the winner’s circle again.

It was a pleasant day at the races, despite the extreme heat, but I think I will give attendance a miss for a while and watch the races in the comfort of my own home.

Besides, the music festival season is almost upon us, and the first of the concerts I have booked for, is next Saturday night with Ryan Adams solo. Only five more sleeps – can hardly wait.

New Year 2012

Another year gone in a flash and the another in its infancy. Who knows what 2012 will bring, but I hope it will be a peaceful one for those who visit this BlogSpot and for the world in general.

New Year’s Day in Melbourne was a hot 35°C and the above plant, colloquially called a Red Hot Poker, is the ideal personification of the heat of summer. They’re blooming in profusion in the front yard at present so I snapped a photo. The one above almost looks like a rooster.

Today also marks the anniversary of my quitting work, so here’s to the joys of retirement. I’ve had a year to get used to it, and I’m finding it wonderfully restful, with no  Protestant Work Ethic anxiety waking me in the middle of the night.  You couldn’t pay me to go back.

I’ve found that retirement suits me. I’m never bored and you can fritter away the hours either productively or idly as the mood suits.

Reading of course occupies some of my time, and I found that I read a great many more books than I would have previously. The Kindle is a boon to the bookworm; it’s so easy to download books and it is gratifying that many new novels are available in ebook format from the publication date, or shortly thereafter. In the past, if I was not interested in purchasing the hard cover edition, I would patiently wait for the paperback edition. I didn’t purchase a single mass market paperback this year, but read many new novels.

There’s much to look forward to in 2012. I’ve booked for two concerts in March, and no doubt once all the side shows from the music festivals are announced, I’ll probably book more. The most keenly anticipated concert is the Ryan Adams solo show at the Regent Theatre on March 3rd. I’ve got second row seats for that. Steve Earle solo at the Corner Hotel on 30 March is the other show I’ve booked and I’m still tossing up whether to go to his son’s show at a new venue (close to home) The Regal Ballroom sometime in April.

On January 27 Black Caviar will be starting her autumn campaign in the Group 2 Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley. I intend to go to the track for that. It’s a good way to kick off the Autumn racing season. Let’s hope my luck improves as I haven’t backed a winner since Cox Plate day.

I spent a quiet New Year’s Eve, and was sound asleep by midnight, so missed all the fireworks and hoopla.

The Stillsons live at Basement Discs

It has been a while since I last wrote a music review; in fact I’m quite out of practice, but as the Basement Discs has a stellar line up of in-store shows this month, I thought I’d give it a bash again.

To start the month, The Stillsons were In Store today and delivered a very pleasant set of folk rock tunes, promoting their new CD Earnest.

Called “a breath of fresh air” by the Sydney Morning Herald, The Stillsons are indeed a bright and breezy band and are composed of Justin Bernasconi (guitar) and Cat Canteri (drums),  and The Waifs bass player Ben Franz. 

They describe their music as contemporary roots, and it encompasses rock, folk and country. Justin and Cat take turns leading the vocals and all three chime in with the harmonies.

Check them out on their My Space page.

Coming up at Basement Discs next Wednesday is blues legend John Hammond and on Friday Folk Uke, a duo composed of Cathie Guthrie and Amy Nelson, descendants of famous Americana artists Woody Guthrie and Willie Nelson. On Tuesday 22nd November, Ray Bonneville, Austin based guitarist, songwriter and harmonica player will be demonstrating his fabulous version of rhythm and blues.

In news out today, Ryan Adams will be doing a solo tour in February/March next year, playing intimate venues throughout Australia and New Zealand.  I don’t know if you could call the Sydney Opera House an intimate venue, but he’s playing there on February 28th.  Needless to say I’m keenly looking forward to this tour and already fretting about about getting a good seat at the Melbourne venue which happens to be the Regent Theatre.

Anticipation

Life’s pretty dull if you haven’t got anything to look forward to. I was going to say, not worth living, but then I thought of all the people in the world who really haven’t anything to look forward to, but no doubt appreciate being alive.

I count myself fortunate that I live in a free and reasonably well off society, where there are many pleasures to relish in advance.

Such is the case at present, where I am keenly anticipating both things of a musical nature and things of a literary nature, not to mention the Spring Racing Carnival.

Ryan Adams. as I have mentioned before, is my all time favourite music artist. I’ve got all his CDs and even some memorabilia ( t-shirt and poster) and have seen him perform live five times.

I must admit I have not liked some of his music, his CD Rock N Roll for instance, but in the main I’ve loved most of them.

What I am keenly anticipating is his latest musical offering Ashes & Fire, especially after listening to a couple of tracks that are freely available on the Internet.  You can listen to his first single, Lucky Now here, and watch Ryan playing an acoustic version of the title song here.  They both sound really beautiful to me; Ryan Adams is back with a vengeance.

Ashes & Fire is his first solo record since he took a break from making music after his 2009 tour. So, it has been quite a wait, but judging from what I have heard so far will be well worth it.

Strangely enough, next week I am going to a concert by the similarly named artist Bryan Adams, famous for such songs as Summer of 69 and Cuts Like A Knife.  Yes it’s pop, but I’m certain it will be very enjoyable, despite the  horrible seat I was allocated at the booking office. People have suggested that I should yell out a request for Come Pick Me Up, one of Ryan Adams’ most requested songs, seeing as how at Ryan Adams concerts in the past, rude persons in the audience were wont to yell out “Play Summer of 69!” Of course I wouldn’t do anything of the kind.

A curious coincidence between Ryan and Bryan Adams is that they have the same birthday – 5th November, 1974 and 1959 respectively.

On the book front, I’m waiting for the publication later this month of Neal Stephenson’s new monster (in size, not subject) novel Reamde, purportedly a hi tech thriller.

You have to be somewhat nerdish to be a Neal Stephenson fan, or have the patience and fortitude to read through 1000 plus pages of a novel. But Stephenson generally fills those 1000 plus pages with cool stuff, and he has a racy style of writing that has you turning the pages excitedly. He  also explains complex ideas with engaging simplicity.

I have a shelf of Neal Stephenson novels in hard cover. They’re all pretty hefty tomes, but look impressive lined up together. I’ll have to clear a 60mm space to fit Reamde in alongside.

As well as having Reamde on pre-order, I’ve also placed orders for the new Haruki Murakami novel 1Q84, apparently Murakami’s masterpiece and his take on Orwell’s 1984, due out in October, and the new Umberto Eco novel The Prague Cemetery, which is due in November.

I purchased all the above books, redeeming a gift voucher I received from my brother for my birthday. I regard it as a good haul and will have the pleasure of anticipating new exciting books for the next three or so months.

I’m also still waiting – after six years – for the publication of the 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big by John Crowley. Whether it will be published this year is up in the air. I’m not holding my breath.