Hotel Chelsea (02.04.25)

Rocking at Hotel Chelsea on a Tuesday night, I wasn't going to let a little cold get in the way of a good-ass show. Photo by Kat.

Greetings to you all. It is I, Zak Claxton, the guy who does various things -- including being a semi-slacker political activist as well as a musician, a businessman, a family guy, and other roles that many of us take on. I'm here to talk about my show on Tuesday night at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life, but as usual, I also have other topics to discuss.

Dumples the Clown

You know what? Nah. You already see what's happening in this country in the few weeks he's been back in office. Those who don't will soon. I cover his ridiculous, pathetic, chaotic actions every day in my Random News bullet items. I have other things to talk about here. I only mention that asshat because this is my first show report after he began his reign of terror, and I wanted to mark the occasion. Now join me in resisting his sorry ass in every way imaginable. Thank you.

I Went to NAMM

Every January for the past 30+ years -- pandemic years excluded, when it was in other months -- I've been forced to work at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. As I've mentioned many times before, the work of preparing for the show and the product launches that lead into it takes months. The show itself is usually pretty smooth and easy. But my days off between November and mid-January are few and far between, and I'm just grateful at this point to have it over and done with for another year. Again, lest I sound like I'm complaining, the show itself went just fine, and I'm glad to have these long-term and new clients who take advantage of my services each year.

The good news: I only have to pretend to be an adult a few times each year.

I Got Sick

One common result of the show that long predated COVID... a condition colloquially known as NAMMthrax. It's otherwise known as a cold, but a particularly nasty one, and it nailed me this year. I really can't complain; I'd gone for five years from 2019-2024 without a single cold... and then I got two in three months. Lucky me.

It came on so strong and sudden that I assumed I was having sneezing fits and cough attacks due to my allergies flaring up upon arriving home to my cat-filled abode. But by the next day (and for the subsequent week), it was very clear that I had a nasty bug. The cough was particularly horrid. In fact, as of last Saturday, I did consider the possibility of having to cancel my show at Hotel Chelsea, or trying to create an all-instrumental set.

But by Tuesday, my voice ended up coming back around to maybe the 75% level, and that was good enough to use at the show with carefully-selected songs... none involving the higher end of my pitch register.

Hey, How About That Show?

Yeah, let's talk about that, since it's at least nominally the purpose of this post. Honestly, it went great. We had a really respectable crowd -- especially toward the end, as I'll explain in a moment. But just the fact that I was able to sing, even if not at full volume or expressiveness, made the night go very acceptably for me.

Is it preferable to do live shows when you're sick and your singing voice isn't at its very best? No, of course not. But I can tell you that as a music fan, the people in the audience are far less critical of the details than most performers assume. Obviously there's a point where doing a show is miserable for everyone, and that's when it's time to postpone and come back another day. But more often than not, I find that when the gig comes around, I perk up and end up doing better than I would have expected.

Me, not being entirely unpleased with how I was singing and playing. Photo by Kat.

A view from the room. Photo by Kat.

I wanted to note that a couple of people came to my show who were literally brand new to Second Life, which is kind of a rarity on a platform that's now 22 years old. But both seemed enthusiastic to be there. When that happens, I sometimes wonder if they found SL after following me for other reasons on social media -- perhaps my daily current event/political news I post each morning. But regardless, it's a treat to be the first SL experience for some noobs after all these years.

The other thing I wanted to add was that after me, not only was my friend Max Kleene playing, as is often the case for this first-Tuesday-of-the-month show at Hotel Chelsea. No, Max was also doing a triple stream with Ed Lowell and Wizard Sideshow, respectively on mando and bass. As such, the crowd swelled massively toward the latter parts of my show, and then I hung out to hear their excellent performance after I was done.

My view from the stage. Photo by Kat.

Wrapping up my set for a crowd of more than 50 isn't too shabby for a random Tuesday night.

Stepping off stage to enjoy Max, Ed, and Wiz.

Hotel Chelsea set list...

Airport Bar (Martin Courtney)

Abrasion (They Stole My Crayon)

Northern Sky (Nick Drake)

Always Tomorrow (Zak Claxton) 

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (Beatles)

Blew The Dust Away (They Stole My Crayon)

Everything Is Scary (German Error Message)

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young)

Big Empty (Stone Temple Pilots)

Longing On (They Stole My Crayon)

Sleeper In The Valley (Laura Veirs)

Cat's In The Cradle (Harry Chapin)

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love & Understanding (Elvis Costello)

Big-ol' thanks to everyone who came out to the show, with super thanks to the following who helped support it!

Richy Nervous, bundy Xue, Chipnails Resident, noowun Wind, Cave LaFontaine, Kat Claxton, Wizard Sideshow, Trouble Streeter, my terrific manager Maali Beck, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko, and Chelsea's great staff!