Sometimes, everything goes perfectly with a live music performance. Oddly, as a musician, those shows aren't very memorable. You arrive, everything works, you get a big audience, you sing and play, and go home. Perhaps we musicians are masochists, because it's usually the gigs where things are completely screwed up that stand out in our memories. However, the caveat is that when things are screwed up and you still pull off a good show, it's a nice affirmation that what matters is the music, and as long as you have the opportunity to do your best stuff (and then you do), those are the shows that seem to create memories.
Case in point: there was every indication that my show last night at the Whisky in SL wasn't going to go well, or possibly happen at all. The host there, a really great guy named Dmitri Polonsky, had apparently just been hired for a new job. This was good news for him, but it meant that no one would be available to host my show. I wasn't even positive that I'd be able to set the audio stream until I arrived at the venue. As we Second Life folks know, no stream equals no show. Second, my wonderful manager Maali Beck came down with food poisoning, and she pinged me not long before the show to tell me she wasn't going to make it. Side note: getting food poisoning right before Thanksgiving isn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy.
For a show that I didn't think was going to happen, this one turned out pretty damn good. Photo by Kat.
Careful with that axe, Eugene. Kat attempts to kill and eat Cicadetta. Photo by Kat.
My three guardian angels: Thea, Kat, and Cica. Photo by Kat.
So, there I was, with no one to run the venue, and no manager to help bring in a crowd. But wait! It gets even better: when I first tried to set the stream at the venue, I couldn't get the audio to work. I was starting to think that it would be a good time to cancel this whole clusterfuck, but then my Zaksters came to my rescue. While I was busy getting the audio stream to behave, Cicadetta Stillwater, Thea Dee, and my lovely lady Kat Claxton appeared. These guardian angels each took a job. Cica helped me troubleshoot the stream, Thea used her superpowers to send event notices out to a number of groups in SL, and Kat did a little of both. By the top of the hour, we were ready to rock. Thanks to the lovely Lady Zaksters for everything... the show would not have happened without you!
Speaking of the show, it really went well. As you probably know, I tend to play whatever material that I feel like doing at that moment, which more or less seems to correspond with the venue and the crowd for whom I'm playing. Last night was a bit more random than my standard selection of tunes, but it's good to mix it up like that sometimes, keeping things fresh for myself and my crowd.
Whisky Set List...
What Are You Like (Indigo Girls)
What I Got (Sublime)
If You Could Only See (Tonic)
Take the Ride (They Stole My Crayon)
Losing My Religion (R.E.M.)
Theme from "Greatest American Hero" (Joey Scarbury)
Theme from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (Sonny Curtis)
Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd)
Uncle John's Band (Grateful Dead)
The Crystal Ship (The Doors)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Alabama (Neil Young)
*Casey Jones (Grateful Dead)
*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.
Huge thanks to my amazing fans, who literally made the show happen, as well as everyone who came and supported the show!
Triana Caldera, ThisisCin, Acred, Triana Caldera, TheaDee, Cicadetta Stillwater, and Kat Claxton!
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