2010 – a couple of decades ago that sounded pretty exciting.

Back in the eighties or early nineties when you mentioned a date like 2010 it seemed a long way away. And very futuristic. People wouldn't be driving on roads any more, we'd all be buzzing round in flying cars, or at the very least living permanently hooked up to our computers in some sort of virtual reality world where we all looked beautiful and ate food from small tubes like the astronauts travelling to their bases on Mars and other planets.
And we'd be able to talk to animals. I distinctly remember a movie where dogs had little chips on their heads so you could talk to them. That was meant to happen in 2006. 2010 was 'the year we make contact”. By 2016 the world was going to look like BladeRunner and we'd be queuing up to live in the off-world colonies.
I guess we just have to face up to the fact that the future isn't as futuristic as it might have been.
On the bright side, no one has started marketing Soylent Green to get over the world food shortage, despite the recession that we are either recovering from or still in depending on which expert you listen to. I go with the 'still in” model: Unemployment is rising, house prices are rising, interest rates are rising. Aside from the well-off, who seem as happy as usual, everyone has had to make cuts. Here at the Watusi Country Club we've temporarily suspended pre-dinner cocktail service.
One thing the recession doesn't seem to have affected is ticket sales for concerts and festivals. This has been something of a welcome surprise for promoters as the general prediction was that such events would suffer as money got tighter. Oddly enough this doesn't seem to have happened. The Arts Festival was a huge success last year and did great business; tickets for this coming Easter's jazz festival are already being snapped up speedily. And word has just come that the Stars Under The Stars concert, held on the field next to Mills Reef, has sold out its first night.
This is, to my knowledge, the first time that this show has sold out completely. Until a couple of years ago the concert was held on a single night, then it got so popular that promoter Craig Wilson took the bold step of adding a second concert. The change has paid off handsomely.
This year he has also upped the ante a little by moving away from the regular tribute bands and getting in someone 'real”, so to speak. Glenn Shorrock to be precise, lead singer in the early days of Australia's Little River Band. The two shows are on Auckland anniversary weekend but if you haven't yet got tickets, your only option is now Sunday, January 31. (Get them from Baycourt TicketDirect.)
And if Mr Shorrock isn't quite your cup of meat there's always the plethora of well-known Kiwis playing support who might be of interest: Kim Willoughby (When The Cats Away), Ian Morris (Th'Dudes) – aka Tex Pistol, Rikki Morris, Tony Waine (The Narcs), Harry Lyon (Hello Sailor) and Rick Ball (Hello Sailor) will be powering through an assortment of Kiwi classics and should be most entertaining.
Anniversary weekend is also a great time for blues lovers, with mini-festivals both here and in Rotorua.
The one here is along Youngson Rd and is the Marchwood Blues Picnic, a rather splendid event that involves sitting in the sun in one of the most idyllic settings you can imagine while listening to an assortment of local and international blues. Sounds good to me. This year the line-up includes English guitarist Pete Harris playing with Rotorua's Mike Garner Band, Australia's Captain Tricko, Sydney's Queen of Boogie Woogie piano Jan Preston, and Tauranga's Brilleaux, Grant Haua Trio, Self-Righteous Brothers Blues Ensemble, and Blues Animals. It should be a whole bunch of fun. For more details check out their website at www.bluespicnic.com
And if you miss that, many of those same artists plus a pile of others will be playing in Rotorua at the Bluesfeast on January 31. Again, this is usually a great day. You can get more info about it at www.bluesfeast.co.nz