Monday, September 9, 2013

Panorama Gallery (09.08.13)



After I wrapped up my show at Key West last Thursday, one of my audience members surprised me by asking if I was interested in performing at an art gallery event on Sunday. That's how I ended up playing at Panorama Gallery, for Ub Yifu's sculpture exhibit opening. There was something else, though, about this request to perform that made me smile. Samantha Chester said that she chose me for this gig based on three factors: the quality of my performance, the fact that I engage the audience well, and most of all that I'd done many Relay for Life events, and she always prioritizes RFL artists for other events. So, while I always say that karma will pay you back for the good things that you do, sometimes it pays you on a more direct basis, and lets you keep the change.

As I noted to Kat, I'm an old hat at doing gallery openings in SL; it's just been awhile since I did them. Back around 2007/2008, I probably did a half dozen art gallery events, and each of them were cool shows. I had a chance to look around Panorama Gallery before my show, and it's a cool place... nice build, good art on display. One thing I like about occasional shows that happen outside the usual list of music-focused venues is that I tend to get an entirely new audience there. That, in turn, gives me an opportunity to expose my music to potential new fans, if they like what they hear. I think that my choice of tunes (mostly focused on the artier side of my repertoire, given the nature of the venue) worked well.

Performing amongst the sculptures at Panorama was a nice environment for a show. Photo and top photo by Kat.

While I usually encourage my crowd to gather around the stage, at this event I was happy to tell people to spread out and take a look around the various beautiful gallery displays. Photo by Kat.

Panorama offers a nice view from the inside as well as the outside. Photo by Kat.

One other thing to note: we've been continuing to work on songs for our band They Stole My Crayon, and on Saturday night, we came up with a new tune called "So Glad". I almost never perform songs that are brand new, preferring to allow them to sink in a little bit. But "So Glad" was fresh in my head and seemed a great tune for an artistic venue, so I whipped that out as well.

Panorama Gallery set list...
Carey (Joni Mitchell)
Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton)
Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
Man on the Moon (R.E.M.)
*So Glad (They Stole My Crayon)
Broken Day (Zak Claxton)
Six Underground (Sneaker Pimps)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
Things Behind the Sun (Nick Drake)
Falling Down (Zak Claxton)
Everyday I Write the Book (Elvis Costello)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young)

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

Big thanks to everyone who helped support my show at Panorama Gallery!
Morgan Velvetleaf, Jeanie Jupiter, Electra Emolite, Beragon Betts, Shmoo Snook, TheaDee, Isabela Drechsler, Kat Claxton, Aurelie Chenaux, Timo Dumpling, Amalia Broome, my lovely manager Maali Beck, and Panorama Gallery's Sam55 Chester!

2 comments:

Maali said...

Maali was there, too!

Zak Claxton said...

Indeed you were, and I have corrected that heinous omission! Thank you for all you do, my friend. :)