Second Life is absolutely music-filled but not all the gigs are distinguishing and worthy of the time spent by people in attending them:going around through the several venues that host live events sometimes it happens , thankfully ,to hit on something really special: last sunday i went at the great opening of an italian venue, Italian Beach Jazz Club and what i assisted to it’s been really amazing, Luigi Vandeverre,the owner of the land, supported by the live event manager Sandy Demina organised a 4 hours live music event that has caught the attention of almost 300 avatars:the show started with the performance of CTM Underwood who warmed up the atmosphere thanks to oldies, classic rock, country, jazz, party songs.He has been playing venues in the USA since the early 70’s and loves the same music many avatars grew up listening to.He played , Billy Joel, Elton John, Eagles, Kansas, Chicago, The Alan Parsons Project, Pink Floyd.:and everyone at the club enjoyed both the music and the funny animations that the artist had brought in order to allow everyone to dance and have fun! After this delightful introduction it’s been the turn of two wonderful ladies of SL music:Juel Resistance and Cylindrian Rutabaga they played some wonderful songs both originals( I especially appreciated Cyl- Grace Buford’s: Phoenix Rising and Into the Water and Suzen Juel’s Ordinary Lie and Rhytm of redemption) and covers. I’d like to say somethg about the importance that musicians playing covers in SL as well as in RL have to be able to perform in an absolutely personal way !Pink Floyd’s “Wish you were here”,Metallica’s “Nohing else matters”,Tori Amos “Cornflake girl” in the interpretation of these two ladies appeared to us actually in a brand new way,in a new looking dimension able to arouse nice vibes in the atmosphere ! The highest level of the show has been reached when Juel and Cyl started singing together in such amazing duets that were able to show clearly both the peculiarities and at the same time the magical according of their voices.When the artists started singing together Leonard Cohen’s “Alleluja” everyone felt emotionally involved because something really unusual was happening:two singers were dueting in SL although they were so distant in RL,Juel streaming from Minneapolis(MI) and Cylindrian from Atlanta(GA)! After the show I asked Cyilindrian how could it be possible for them to play together in SL and she told me that doing a duet of that kind is technically very difficult. The “lead” stream cannot hear the second stream. The Second Stream is responsible for the “mix” and making sure that both voices are balanced. This is extremely difficult to do because what one was hearing in her moniter was different than what the stream picks up so they have to record the mix, listen, and make adjustments based on the stream mix. Cylindrian sayed to me:”I loved doing those duets with Juel. I find her rhythms to be simple and easy to follow and adlib with. Also, she is great at giving a soft verbal direction or cues to me to tell me what she is going to be doing. This makes it a more unified performance. Her vocal style and annunciation of words is very different from mine, so harmonizing all the time can be very tricky, but its a challenge that I love. I love working with a talent like Juel Resistance.” I really guess that they fulfilled a dream for all the inworld artists: singing together notwithstanding the material distance!Isn’t it amazing what it’s possible on the huge virtual SL stage?The sharing of experiences and emotions in real time is in my opinion the originality and the strength of SL music! At the end of the show we enjoyed the concert of Joaquin Gustav:the soulful sound of his guitar ravished eveyone to a charming tango house where dancing together with a partner seemed absolutely realistic for the warmth of the atmosphere caused by those magic notes…Astor Piazzolla pieces and classical milongas of the argentinian popular tradition perfectly performed by the artist concluded the event , leaving in everyone the sensation of having attended a really precious show, that didn’t have anything less of an RL event! In this cool venue totally renewed,I have above all appreciated the refinement of the italian-style design and the extreme care for each details. I loved the stage layout and the moonbeam light on the big piano. The attendees at the show were very kind and supportive with their applause and comments. Artists received some feedback from them and that that was very positive.
Submitted by Simona Dawes