The view from the stage at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life. Photo by Kat.
Will You, Though?
Of course I will. I always get around to talking about the show. You know that. Why would I post a report about a show and not talk about the show?
Oh, you mean because of all the other stuff (gestures randomly) going on in the world. Yes, even though I cover that information every day in my Random News bullets, I also tend to mention things in these show reports as well. And frankly, why would anyone bother reading some collection of words that went, "Um, I did a show, people saw it, here's what I played, the end?"
So while I don't just repeat the news that I'd already posted in recent days, I do want to delve a little deeper into a topic or two, and this is a fine place to do it.
April 5, 2025: Hands Off!
Yes, this is a big topic in my mind right now. This coming Saturday, I will once again be getting involved in a protest action. Hands Off! is a nationwide mobilization with the goal of raising awareness about the most brazen power grab in modern history. Specifically, as you may have already inferred, it's about Donnie Dump, his boss Elon Musk, and their billionaire cronies who are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy, and our basic rights. And they're being enabled by other sectors of our federal government, like Congress and the Supreme Court.
You likely know the specifics already. They're shuttering Social Security offices, they're firing essential workers, they're eliminating consumer protections, and they're gutting Medicaid, among other heinous and unacceptable actions. Why? To bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They’re handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich.
As the organizers say, "If we don’t fight now, there won’t be anything left to save."
I'm be one of hundreds of thousands of Americans -- or hopefully even more -- participating in the Hands Off! national day of action on Saturday April 5. And yes, I'll give you a full synopsis afterwards. That's what I do.
Taking It To The Streets
When I was younger, I never was involved in direct protest actions. It wasn't that there was no reason to make my voice heard; we've never lived in such a utopia that there wasn't a need for action. But like many people, I never understood the need to protest. Frankly, in my generation, protesting was something that people had done against the Vietnam War when I was a small child. It didn't seem necessary.
Boy, was I wrong. Anyway, it took me until 2011, in my early 40s, before I started to understand how protests made a difference while watching livestreams of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. I started to add my own participation in social and political activism around that time.
In 2018, I got directly involved after the horrifying mass murder at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Lakeland, Florida. I participated in the "March for Our Lives" event here in my beach cities area on March 24 of that year, joining over 5,000 other local residents in protesting gun violence. I had no idea how inspirational and invigorating it would be to be part of something like that.
A couple of pics of me at previous protests. I'm not new at this.
In June of that year, I was out in the streets again for the "Families Belong Together" rally to protest the separation of children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. In November, I joined up with people at the "Nobody Is Above the Law" protest, supporting the then-investigation of Dumpy's criminal actions by Robert Mueller. Hundreds and hundreds of people were at each of those street-based events. In 2019, I was present at another event -- this one smaller and more local -- called "Lights for Liberty", and its focus was immigrant detention and child separation policies.
So, I find myself truly looking forward to making my voice heard at Saturday's "Hands Off!" day of action. I'll be found at the closest "Hands Off!" event to my home because a) it's important to show your neighbors and other local folks in your area that you care, and b) ain't no way in hell I'm dealing with getting in and out of downtown LA to be with the larger crowd at Pershing Square.
Cool. But Were You Ever Going To Talk About The Show?
Yes, calm down. I told you I would, and now here we are.
First of all, it was only through happenstance -- and the functionality of our calendar system -- that my show ended up on April 1, with the date being the first Tuesday of the month when I always perform at Hotel Chelsea in Second Life.
And for going on 19 years, I've often billed myself as "The Musical Fool of Second Life." Not in the sense that I'm some kind of idiot, but that I tend to be silly and spontaneous in many aspects of my performance. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's my natural state when I'm in front off a mic with a spotlight on me.
Me, looking rather pleased onstage at Hotel Chelsea. Photo by Kat.
I always enjoy when I can tell the crowd is having a good time. Feel free to scream random shit at me while I play. Photo by Kat.
So having a show that was literally on April Fools' Day couldn't have been more perfect. I mostly did a random set list with the exception of a few tunes at the end that were more focused on it being April Fools'.
I'll say it again: I've never not had a good show at Chelsea. Not once in years. Low pressure, fun crowd, and the welcoming attitude to play whatever I feel like from the most obscure to the most popular tunes in history. It's all good there. Photo by Kat.
Hotel Chelsea set list...
This Afternoon (Zak Claxton)
One of These Things First (Nick Drake)
Carry Me Here and There (They Stole My Crayon)
On Fire (Idaho)
Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
Sleeper (Knitting)
God Only Knows (Beach Boys)
Save It For Later (English Beat)
Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)
The Joker (Steve Miller)
Fool on the Hill (Beatles)
*Lovefool (The Cardigans)
*Improvised Outro (Zak Claxton)
*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.
Huge thanks to everyone who hung out and enjoyed my show... and special extra thanks to the following who helped support it!
Maximillion Kleene, Bablyn Resident, Richy Nervous, Kat Claxton, Trouble Streeter, not4gods Resident, aumat1 Resident, Dean Xochitl, Nina Brandenburg, bundy Xue, Alessia Rodeyn, my terrific manager Maali Beck, Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko, and Chelsea's great staff!
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