Serene Acoustic Lounge & Warung Beats (10.21.12)

How rare is it for me to perform at two events in one day in Second Life? Well, looking back over this blog and earlier notes, I can only count six times in six years that I doubled-up on shows in a single day. Most of those times, it seems that I agreed to play a special event for a charity, like Relay for Life or Brique Zeiner's "Feed-A-Smile" Foundation, on a day I already had a regular show booked. But yesterday's double Zak show was purely for fun: I was scheduled to play in the evening at a great venue called Warung Beats, but my friend Barbie Horsley (aka Sassy Nitely in Second Life) asked if I could drop in for a short set at her own Serene Acoustic Lounge venue to perform at her "Spooktacular" Halloween event. I couldn't say no, nor did I want to; Barbie is a good friend and, as I mentioned, it sounded fun, and I'm a sucker for fun.

One nice thing about having been in Second Life for over six years; pretty much anything can be found by simply searching my own bloated inventory items. It was no surprise that I had a pretty decent Dracula-like outfit ready to rock. When I arrived there, Suzen Juel (aka Juel Resistance) was doing her inimitable show, and I enjoyed her spooky stuff while I readied myself to play. For my mini-set, I pulled out two semi-frightening tunes I'd never played before, plus one of my own that qualified as scary. I also told two very silly stories that I made up on the spot. That's just how I roll.

Yup... Count Zakula is here to entertain you. "And the only thing in the cabinet was... DECAF! Mwah-ha-ha-ha!" Photo by Kat.

Gypsy Kat Woman. Photo by Kat.

Serene Acoustic Lounge was nicely spookified for the event. Photo by Kat.

Wonder Sassy! Photo by Kat.

Serene Acoustic Lounge Set List...
*People Are Strange (The Doors)
*Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
Waiting for This (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates my first-ever performance of this song in SL.

After my set, my pal Terry Lynn Melody had a treat for us tricksters: she DJ'ed the rough mixes from her upcoming album that no one had heard before. All in all, it was a very fun event, but my musical day wasn't nearly done.

Rocking the Brazilians at Warung Beats
I'd played once before at Warung Beats, in July, and it was a great show. I wasn't sure what to expect this time, and when I started my first song I was a little concerned; there were only five or six people there. Then, BOOM! Before the song was over I had a crowd of over 40 people.

While most places in SL cater primarily to English speakers, Warung Beats is a venue for Brazilian people, so a good portion of the chat flying by was in Portuguese. However, we also had a good number of Zaksters and other fans whose language I could read as I glanced down at the chat window. Regardless of the language, folks seemed to be having a good time, and since I was very warmed up from having done an earlier show, my voice and guitar were both in great shape from the get-go.

I used to take crowds of this size for granted in SL. Not anymore! Photo by Kat.

Did I mention we had a really big crowd at Warung Beats? Photo by Kat.

I love the smell of big audiences in the morning. Or evening. Any time, actually. Photo by Kat.

Two words: hell yes! Photo by Kat.

Warung Beats Set List...
Fade Away (Zak Claxton)
California (Joni Mitchell)
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (The Police)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Space Oddity (David Bowie)
The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young)
Perfect Girl (Zak Claxton)
Man on the Moon (R.E.M.)
She's Always A Woman (Billy Joel)
Come Around (Zak Claxton)
One (U2)
Behind Blue Eyes (The Who)

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Serene Acoustic Lounge and Warung Beats for my shows! Obrigado a todos os meus amigos brasileiros para estar lá também! Extra thanks to those who helped with their support!
TheaDee, Triana Caldera,ChrisMongrel, Liz Harley, Alexis Fairlady, Spiral Silverstar, Kat Claxton, Juel Resistance, my manager Maali Beck, Serene owner Sassy Nitely, and Warung Beats manager Ursula Cinquetti.