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Edited on Fri Mar-09-07 04:09 PM by shadowknows69
It is a review of an online nightclub in Second Life so if some of the terminology is weird, know that it makes sense to regulars of the game. Opinions and critiques welcome.
Live Performance/Grand Opening-Gimme Shelter Rio 5, 99, 22 (Mature)
You only get one chance to do a “grand opening” and there’s a fairly simple, but vital formula to do it right. The Gimme Shelter club in the Rio sim (Rio 5, 99, 22 (Mature) had its chance on March 7th and proprietor Nomad Rovio apparently knows his chemistry.
Let’s go down the checklist:
Provide an inviting, spacious venue and a well built stage with all the expected props
“No clutter” is the order of the day at Gimme Shelter and its wide open walkways, and huge stage and dance area are in the best tradition of real life rock clubs. Most of the club’s walls are a striking hardwood texture and the stage has a great worn granite look that adds to the real feel of this place. A bar area provides many seats and space for people looking to socialize away from the main performance area and a larger lounge between the two sports a huge video screen.
The main stage room isn’t burdened with any seats clumsily inhibiting movement to the floor. This is a rock club and crowds stand; and they dance. For those who do want to kick back a bit, several beanbag chairs are available near the back but you’ll have to find a comfortable camera control position to see through the crowd at times.
The props are modest with only a small drum set, microphones for singers, two small speaker stacks and a simple lighting trestle for the stage. The stage itself is huge; perhaps even too big for mostly stationary avatars but musical group size will never be an issue here.
Overall Gimme Shelter gets a checkmark on this point. The ambience is simple yet effective and friendly but definitely has room for growth and one would assume that a new club will find a fuller voice and look in time.
Promotion, Promotion, Promotion
You can throw the best party of all time and if no one knows about it then you’re going to be dancing by yourself to angry musicians cursing you for costing them good tip money.
I found Gimme Shelter through a simple event search but it’s clear that there were other factors at work as it drew at least a crowd of 40-60 who faithfully stayed until the end. Aside from the classified and event listings all performing artists were involved in their own promotion of the gig as well and owner Nomad Rovio is clearly a deft and charismatic front man for his club, and that never hurts. Good marks on this one. It’s hard to make an argument against a full dance floor.
You Need A Gimmick?
Attending some of the more popular clubs in Second Life one might think so. Do a nightly event search and you’ll find any number of parties running theme nights and contests from “Best hair” to “Best Giant Anime Robot Avatar” and everything in between.
The name “Gimme Shelter” evokes a famous song from The Rolling Stones so I admit I was a little surprised when I entered a hall that was not adorned from floor to ceiling with various representations of the iconic “Lips” symbol or even some old Stones concert photos but the walls were basically bare.
Thinking this might be a sign of lazy planning or even obliviousness to the motif the name of his club instantly conjures I asked owner Nomad Rovio about it. As a fan of Mick and the boys, I was relieved that our host did, in fact, realize the historical significance of the name on his door but told me it was a conscious effort not to dive too far into the arena of excess or nostalgic cheese. Even for a club inspired by “The Glimmer Twins”
In describing Gimme Shelter owner Nomad calls it a “Fusion of real life and Second Life to give the greatest feel and a great platform for the music. For me it’s about the music first and foremost”
Despite the name Gimme Shelter won’t be pigeonholed as just a “Rolling Stones” club. Genre maybe; it’s a rock club, but Nomad expects a wide variety of musicians to grace his stage in the future.
It’s The Music, Stupid
The final part of our checklist can be simultaneously the easiest and trickiest part of throwing a successful grand opening. If you’re having a live music event, whether it’s a musician or a DJ, a smart club owner knows it can define their establishment for the length of its existence and has some important booking decisions to make.
Once again owner Nomad proves himself adept in the management of his club and the crowd on hand were treated to a pair of acts from Atlanta that birthed Gimme Shelter in excellent style and sound.
Opening act Cylindria Rutabaga dazzled us with an amazingly powerful and soulful voice. Alison Krauss and Ann Wilson were the immediate references that leaped to mind as Cylindria belted out a mix of originals and covers, trading her acoustic guitar for a piano half way through the set. Stand outs were her originals like "Maddie's Runaway Train" a tune seeped in the south with a nice, “rolling down the tracks" groove and rhythm to it and heartfelt train whistle vocals to bridge the verses. Covers we were treated to included a fantastic, piano driven, interpretation of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe in the Air.” The strength in Cylindria’s voice suggested that she could have launched into the amazing vocal solo on “Great gig in the sky” from the same album. The “Stones” weren’t forgotten of course and we were blessed with a version of “Angie”
Headliners Spence Wild and Leyah Renegade, took the duties of paying proper tribute to the inspiration of Gimme Shelter by doing over an hour of nearly all Rolling Stones songs in an acoustic electric duo that was definitely met with approval from audience members.
Many gems from the Stone’s library, both popular and obscure, were shared enthusiastically by the singers over the crystal clear audio stream that Spence told me was being sent from his living room as he and Leyah were surrounded by laptops and other toys. Appropriately enough, they started the set with the titular “Gimme Shelter” and a great version of it except that Leyah’s voice was biting off more than it could chew trying to match the female vocal solos on the studio version, but it wasn’t painful, and she nailed everything to the note from then on.
Some of the many other treats included “Under my thumb”, “Let it Bleed”, “Get off my cloud” and an amazing “Dead Flowers” where Spence took the opportunity to really “Mick” it up a bit and do a fine homage to the legendary singer’s unique style. The guitar work and harmonies throughout the set were exemplary. Leyah’s slide guitar proficiency, which was impressive, made you wonder if you were, in fact, listening to Richards, Jones, Wood or Taylor bending those strings.
Nomad Rovio has given Second Life another great venue for the enjoyment of talented live musicians or even just a great place to meet with friends, watch some music videos or just enjoy a virtual beverage or two. I highly recommend you catch Cylindria Rutabaga, Spence Wild and Leyah Renegade wherever you can as they are definitely some of the brighter shining stars gracious enough to bring their talents to our virtual universe. Overall Gimme Shelter did just that for its patrons on March 7th, granted shelter from boring silence and a lazy Wednesday night. Gimme Shelter; It’s just a “‘port” away.
-Scott McGregor
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