Cuddler's Cove (11.19.11)

First of all, let's start today's show report by mentioning that the last time I performed live at Cuddlers Cove in Second Life was April 25, 2008... three and a half years ago, crazily enough. There's no particular reason that I stopped playing there. Did you ever have one of those circumstances where you have a friend, but for whatever reason you lose touch with them and one day realize that years had gone by since your last connection? Well, it's more like one of those situations. Suka Nishi and Quinton Whitman who run the place are terrific people, and I'm very glad that today I was able to get back to Cuddler's and do a show.

Apparently there's a whole world of people in SL who are up earlier than me on weekends. Who knew? Photo by Kat.

But wait... there's a catch (isn't there always a catch?). Cuddler's Cove does most of their events on Saturday mornings, and since Suka and Quinton are based on the East Coast in real life, the shows start kinda... early. This morning's lineup had Quinton himelf starting out at 7AM, followed by the always-terrific Mash Rhode at 8AM. The third and final act of the day was Yours Truly. Well, unlike those fellas, 9AM in SL really means 9AM in my real life, so I am happy to report that this morning was my official earliest gig of my entire life as a performing musician!

I had no idea how that would work out, but it really ended up being fine. I woke up at 7 (which is ordinarily an hour I try and avoid on weekends), hopped in the shower and immediately began warming up my voice in the steam. Had some coffee -- perhaps too much, by the spastic results it inspired in my personality during the show -- ate a banana for breakfast, strummed a few chords on the Martin, and boom! It was time to play.

Three lovely Zakster ladies: Kat (top), Aurelie (middle), and Diana (bottom) boogie down at my Saturday morning funfest. Photos by Kat.

The show itself was really good. We had a nice-sized crowd there, and surprisingly, despite the early hour, my voice and guitar both felt great. Song-wise, it was a pretty typical mix of my originals and covers, mostly picked out by Kat since I was too groggy to think of what to play.

Cuddler's Cove Set List...
Everyday I Write the Book (Elvis Costello)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
Thanks Anyway (Zak Claxton)
Six Underground (Sneaker Pimps)
Perfect Girl (Zak Claxton)
Walk on the Ocean (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
After the Goldrush (Neil Young)
I Am A Child (Neil Young)
Jane (Barenaked Ladies)

Humungous thanks to everyone at Cuddler's Cove, especially the following folks who helped support my show!
Robert69 Little, Diana Renoir, Katja Runo, Catherinne Earnshaw, Klementina Bernheim, Kat Claxton, Aurelie Chenaux, Steluna Silverspar, Mash Rhode, TheaDee, and Cuddler's Cove owners Quinton Whitman and Suka Nishi!