Sayonara to the work place

“So its goodbye to the sunshine, goodbye to the dew,
Goodbye to the flowers, and goodbye to you.
I'm off to the subway. I must not be late.
I'm going to work in tall buildings.”

John Hartford - Tall Buildings

For me it’s hello to the sunshine - it’s a scorcher this New Year’s Eve in Melbourne - and hello to the flowers and goodbye to the Department, I’ll no longer work in tall buildings.

Yes, today was my last working day. I’m all set for a 10 month holiday using up recreation leave and long service leave credits, after which I will officially retire from the workforce.

God knows what I’ll do with myself, but I’m sure something will occur to me to occupy my time for however long I’ve got left. But firstly I’ll enjoy winding down , chilling out and forgetting the stresses of training a new person in my job over the past few months, and particularly the past week.

I’ve got plenty of new books to read, having scored a number of books for Christmas by way of gift vouchers, which of course I’ve redeemed.

Anyway, this New Year’s Eve will be a memorable one for me, even though I’m not planning on doing anything special.

Whoopee! No more work.

I also wish readers of this blog just as memorable an occasion and love , peace and happiness in 2011.

Keith Richards Life – the hair raising and entertaining tale of a survivor

Over the past week or so I’ve been reading Keith Richards autobiography, Life, and what an amazing reading experience it has been.

I am not usually one to read celebrity bios, but I made an exception with this one as I’ve always been a great fan of the Rolling Stones, and even though my main fascination with the band centred on Mick Jagger, after reading Keith’s Life, I have become a Richards devotee. In fact after reading halfway through the book which took it up to 1972, I felt an urge to run out and buy the DVD Ladies & Gentlemen The Rolling Stones – a live recording of a concert they performed in that year. Instead of concentrating on the antics of Jagger I watched Richards this time.

Not a book for the fainthearted or the easily shocked, Life is grand tale of sex and drugs and rock and roll; indeed Keith Richards lived his life like we all imagine rock stars do.

What makes the book extraordinary as an autobiography, is the up front and personal style of the writing. You feel, reading it, that Keith Richards is talking to you directly. No expletives or details are spared, and you emerge from the book feeling you know the guy intimately. Quite an achievement!

The book traces Keith Richards life from his schooldays to the present and it’s a real page turner, engagingly vivid and interesting throughout. It describes the development of the Rolling Stones as one of the great rock ‘n roll bands, and for all you guitar aficionados, Keith explains his technique in great detail.

He never apologises or makes excuses for his excesses and extreme substance abuse. A real rebel, it turns out that his paternal grandfather was a socialist and civic rights leader. His maternal grandfather was a Jazz musician and was, along with his mother Doris, a major influence on his chosen path as a musician.

Keith Richards Life has gained many accolades in the press, the book being designated as "One of the greatest rock memoirs ever....” and I can only agree. Highly recommended!

Last In Store for the year – A sparkling set by Monique DiMattina

After a week of heat, humidity and also torrential rain – half the state of Victoria, not to mention New South Wales is flooded – the weather today in Melbourne is cool and mild,

However, a sunny mini performance by Monique Dimattina at Basement Discs was a pleasant break from the intensity and busyness of the season.

Monique has recently returned from a lengthy stint in New York where she worked with the likes of Lou Reed , Norah Jones and Bjork. As well as being an excellent pianist, Monique is a talented singer and songwriter. Her musical heroines are Rickie Lee Jones, Blossom Dearie and Nina Simone to name a few.

It was obvious Monique was pleased to be back in Melbourne and she has celebrated the fact by recording a wonderful album of originals with a cover or two called Welcome Stranger. The first song she sang today was her tribute to Melbourne, Livingest Place - a bouncy jazzy little number followed by another Melbourne referenced song called Joan of Burwood.

She was accompanied today by Andrew Swan who alternately played drums and guitar and Hannah Cameron who provided backing vocals.

Her music is defined as Jazz/Pop and she is certainly mistress of a range of musical styles.

2011 promises another abundance of top International and Local musical treats. No doubt, Basement Discs will be hosting a few of them in store.

Check out Monique on her website, where she is offering a free download of the Livingest Place.

Mary Gauthier at East Brunswick Club

Each time I have had the pleasure of witnessing Mary Gauthier live, she has been accompanied by a different musician. Back in 2007 wonderful guitarist Thomm Jutz provided superb backing and earlier this year she was accompanied by Ed Romanoff.

This time round young five string violin maestro Tania Elizabeth, was her partner on stage, so once again the vibe was different.

I had been steeling myself all day for a night of standing at the East Brunswick Club, but surprise, surprise limited seating was provided this time, so we had a great possie up the front at a small table. One brave soul parked himself on the sticky carpet, drawing even Mary Gauthier to remark on the adhesive quality of flooring at the East Brunswick Club.

It was a great show, Mary singing a range of songs from her back catalogue, understandably interspersed with songs from The Foundling.

She began the night with her fabulous cover of the beautiful For Rose, a song written by Jonathan Pointer. She took a request for I Drink – naturally - and obliged me by performing one of my favourites from her album Filth and the Fire, Christmas in Paradise. In fact she sang a few songs from that album including Camelot Motel and Sugarcane.

Tania Elizabeth added another dimension to the show with her otherworldly, eerie violin accompaniment and spooky harmony vocals. She is a Melburnian by birth but now lives in Canada and is a former member of the Canadian band The Duhks.

Set List

For Rose
Walk On The Water
I Drink
Christmas In Paradise
I Ain’t Leaving
Sweet Words
Camelot Motel
Sugarcane
Mama Here Mama Gone
Goodbye
Sideshow
Blood Is Blood
The Orphan King

Encore:
Hangman’s Reel – Tania Elizabeth solo
Mercy Now

Pieta Brown & Bo Ramsey at Basement Discs

It’s a wild and woolly day in Melbourne, hot and humid with gale force winds. That’s early summer for you,

It was worth braving the vicious wind to get down to Basement Discs at lunchtime, for a very special mini concert by Pieta Brown and Bo Ramsey, playing selections from Pieta’s latest CD One And All.
Pieta Brown, for those who don’t know, is the daughter of acclaimed American folk singer songwriter Greg Brown, but she has her own individual style, leaning more towards the rock end of the folk and country spectrum. She has a superb voice that has been termed haunting by the critics: it has an attractive tonal quality that is a pleasure to listen to, and her songs are instantly likeable.

Accompanied today by husband and guitar maestro Bo Ramsey providing very tasteful and quite ornate electric guitar licks, Pieta’s performance was sweet respite from the nasty weather outside.

Bo Ramsey is a star in his own right, being a long time associate of Pieta’s father Greg Brown as guitar player and producer, and he has also added his own distinctive guitar sound to Lucinda Williams albums - Car Wheels On a Gravel Road and Essence in particular.
Check out this You Tube video of Pieta and Bo performing her song West Monroe

Last week Basement Discs presented Darwin singer songwriter Leah Flanagan. I did not have time to write a review, but be assured it was another quality performance.

Next week on Thursday I’m going to see Mary Gauthier at the East Brunswick Club. Yes, she’s back in Australia for a few shows and will be playing at the Queenscliff Music Festival. The show at the East Brunswick Club is advertised a comprising two sets, so I assume we will get to hear a more extended song list than earlier this year where she concentrated on her new album The Foundling. Whatever, I’m looking forward to seeing her again, even if it is at the East Brunswick Club.

Chilling out with Collard Greens & Gravy

It has been a few weeks since Basement Discs presented an in store performance, but it all resumed today with a sterling little show from local blues outfit Collard Greens & Gravy spruiking their new CD Juke Joint Boogie.
The group has been around the Melbourne scene for many years and are recognized as one of the best blues bands in Australia if not the world, so it was a pleasure to catch them live once more.

Ian Collard has a spectacular bluesy voice reminiscent of Tim Buckley and plays a mean harmonica. His cohorts in the band are James Bridges on guitar and Anthony Shortte on percussion.

Today they entertained the sizeable audience with several new tunes from the new album, including the title track,

Melbourne is hot and windy today, so collard blues was better than a blast of cool air to take the heat off the working day.

Check them out on their website, or My Space and give them a listen. They’re great!

The Carnival is Over – a review of the 2010 Spring Racing Season

What a splendid racing season it was…the best in many years and pretty well interesting throughout the entire sixteen weeks it lasted.The Stars

So You Think who missed the autumn season recovering from a throat operation, stormed into the spring with an unbeaten run of five races including winning a second Cox Plate. A magnificent looking animal he became the archetypal champion of the turf, his run of wins ending with the Melbourne Cup where he was by no means disgraced in his game third placing. He was a joy to behold in all his races, though he certainly stymied the chances of his opposition by winning several choice Group One competitions. Alas that’s the last we’ll see of him on Aussie racetracks, but it will be interesting to see how he performs on the world stage.

So You Think

A late starter in the spring season was the super sprinting mare Black Caviar who finished the season last weekend, remaining unbeaten in eight starts, by totally annihilating her opposition in the Patinack Farm Classic. Hay List, on whom much was expected in the race, failed to fire and finished second last. Black Caviar will return in autumn to contest rich sprints like the Lightning Stakes. Gratifyingly her trainer when asked about the possibility of her racing overseas retorted that she would stay in Australia and if the world wanted to challenge her they could come here. As an aside, her little brother Moshe (Bel Esprit – Helsinge) had his first start yesterday in Bendigo and won by six lengths, He might yet challenge his big sister in the future.

Black Caviar

Hay List, despite his uncharacteristic performance last weekend, can still be counted as one of the stars of the spring carnival with three wins in a row including the Group One Manikato Stakes. I will be looking forward keenly to his return in the autumn when we will undoubtedly witness another clash with Black Caviar.

Sydney stayer Maluckyday seemed to come out of the blue a few days prior to the Cup. One moment Melbourne race fans had not heard of him, the next moment he’d won the Lexus Stakes then run second in the Melbourne Cup. A very promising young stayer, he’s one to consider for next year’s Melbourne Cup and the staying handicaps in the autumn season.

More Joyous, though denied the glory of winning the Cox Plate, won four races in succession prior to that race, including two Group One contests in open company, so she’s still a star in my book. With So You Think out of the picture in the future, More Joyous and the others who had the misfortune to meet the champ, will no doubt be back competing for prizes in autumn.Black Bookers
Several of my black book horses competed throughout the spring without mishap but with little luck. Favourites like Typhoon Tracy and Shoot Out were competitive but unfortunately unable to win, in Tracy’s case, though Shoot Out started the season with wins in the Bletchingly Stakes and the Liston Stakes. The tragedy of the spring was the death of Shoot Out’s regular jockey Stathi Katsidis a few days before the Cox Plate. We’ll never know if Stathi would have made a difference to Shoot Out’s chances in the Cox Plate, but probably not. Linton failed miserably in the Melbourne Cup, but is worth another chance I reckon when he matures. He after all ran second to Maluckyday in the Lexus.

Of the up and coming youngsters sure to be firing in the autumn season, Star Witness verified that his Blue Diamond win wasn’t a fluke, winning the Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes and running a very creditable second to Black Caviar in the Patinack Farm Classic. The Victoria Derby winner Lion Tamer is also worth watching for in autumn and will be a force to contend with if the tracks are heavy.

This coming Saturday there is an interesting race card at Sandown Hillside where good old Zipping will be gunning for a fourth Sandown Classic and the Sandown Cup features a field containing some unlucky Melbourne Cup contestants trying over the 3200 metre distance again.

There’s a mini carnival in Western Australia in a week or two and summer brings the Magic Millions hopefuls into play prior to the autumn season, but I’ll spare you the details and write about something else for a change.