Key West (03.23.13) & ROMA (03.24.13)

We might as well get the only sad news of this post out of the way up front: I sprained my damn wrist. It happened late Friday afternoon, and as is the case in many of these kinds of injuries, it happened in a very non-memorable way. I lifted a bag of trash that was heavier than I'd realized it would be, and picked it up "wrong" (i.e., with my hand twisted oddly). I knew I'd done something to tweak it immediately, but it wasn't until later that night that the pain, rather than subsiding, was getting worse.

Had it been my left wrist (the one that I use for fretting notes on the guitar), it would have been pretty much impossible for me to consider performing over the weekend, which would have, in a word, sucked. I had two cool shows lined up: Saturday evening at Key West, and Sunday noon at ROMA. When I got up on Saturday, after grousing a bit about the pain, I gingerly picked up the guitar, and was very relieved to find that the motion of strumming wasn't causing any pain. Perhaps I was also using the "mind over matter" trick that I hear professional athletes who play in pain use all the time. But in any case, there would be no cancellations of shows, and in retrospect, that's a really good thing. Both shows were good. Really good.

KEY WEST
I don't always do themed shows, but as I've written about before, sometimes I get in a particular mode and enjoy putting together a list of songs that have some kind of tie-in with each other. On Saturday at Key West, I'd spent plenty of time of the past week or so listening to the new Bowie album, The Next Day (which I recently reviewed). I decided to make it a "mostly Bowie" show for no other reason that Bowie fucking rules. I played a few songs for the first time, which I always enjoy (when they go well, which they did).

Key West always brings an enthusiastic crowd of people who really like live music. Photo by Kat.

Key West Set List...
*Golden Years (David Bowie)
Radio Free Europe (R.E.M.)
Come Around (Zak Claxton)
Valentine's Day (David Bowie)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
*Spirits In The Material World (The Police)
Starman (David Bowie)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Carey (Joni Mitchell)
*Heat (David Bowie)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Thanks to the Key West crowd who supported my show!
Triana Caldera, Alexis Fairlady, Rosinante Vinson, Kat Claxton, TheaDee, Sesh Kamachi, Diana Renoir, Rock Doghouse, my manager Maali, and Key West owner Liz Harley!

ROMA
ROMA is one of the more interesting places at which I've performed in SL. My manager Maali Beck is part of the community at this role-playing sim based on ancient Rome, and she first had me do a show there in April 2011. I'd performed at ROMA a couple more times since, and in addition to admiring the quality of their amazing build, the people there are very cool and appreciative of live music. I did my best to throw in some Roman references during my banter as to not entirely spoil the theme of their sim, though I must admit that my Latin is pretty rusty. Still, I happily donned my toga and enjoyed playing to this very committed role-playing audience.

The citizens of ROMA enjoy their feast while I rock. Photo by Kat.

I look good in a toga. I should wear one in real life. Photo by Kat.

It was their Bacchanalia feast, and the mood was indeed festive. We had a nice-sized crowd, and since I'd been playing so often recently, I reached a little deeper into my repertoire to do some tunes I hadn't been performing much lately.

ROMA Set List...
Wonderwall (Oasis)
Jane (Barenaked Ladies)
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
Summer Breeze (Seals & Crafts)
Creepin' (Stevie Wonder)
Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)
Northern Sky (Nick Drake)
Raised on Robbery (Joni Mitchell)
Mary Jane's Last Dance (Tom Petty)
Any Major Dude (Steely Dan)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young)
Across the Universe (Beatles)

Gratias vobis ago to all you fine ROMA citizens! Thanks to those of you who supported my show!
Melanippe Karas, Airedale Magic, Triana Caldera, Guillaume Mistwalker, Tonina Rodenberger, Kat Claxton, Celeste Ewing, the event manager Angelia Rees, and my great friend and manager Maali Beck!