Kurt Calamity @ Cafe Musique 02/03/2023

Another Morning at Café Musique, one of SLs busiest live music venues, a place where you can find brand new (to performing) artists, windshield and shower singers, First Life refugee musicians as well as every combination of the above. Today's shows were at the always welcoming beach venue, where the tip jar is the large barrel in front of the stage with "Café Musique" on the side.

While I'm familiar with a lot of music, I do confess, my detailed knowledge of song titles and signers isn't very wide (but considerably deep). Sometimes I struggle to recognize the songs I'm covering. I jot down lyrics and then duck (www.duckduckgo.com, they don't steal your personal info) them to suss out the song and artist. This is great for expanding my knowledge of music, but sometimes interferes with enjoying the show.

Today I met no such problem. Today I was in for a real treat as the ever reliable Kurt Calamity was doing an "(Almost) All Billy Joel" show. This is my kind of music, so I put the duck away, hoped on a dance pad and proceeded to enjoy a trip down memory lane, which started with "You May Be Right". Kurt really made show of it, showing mastery of his RL "Beat Buddy" create the sound of a stage band. My ability to do this stuff is not quite as well developed as my ability to avoid curves in SL (i.e.. zero (null for those using metric), and my respect for those who can was raised with every note Kurt played. The second Billy Joel song he shared with us was "Big Shot", and then a personal favorite "Don't Ask Me Why".

I often think about the odds of making in the music business, which are, at best, astronomical. If you think about all the people who form a garage band at the denominator, and those that chart as the numerator, it's about equal to the chances I'll get married in SL (not zero, but pretty close). For a singer to have multiple songs chart is even smaller. To have song that is played at somewhere north of 90% of every wedding reception since it was released is just beating astronomical odds. Kurt's perfect voice would grace any wedding reception in any world, as he proved with "Just The Way You Are."

He followed this classic up with a highly energetic version of "Movin' Out". Sticking with the upbeat tempo, we rocked to a song of independence we can all relate to, "My Life", and the Kurt gave our old hearts a rest with the love song "Always A Woman". I had been confident I'd recognize all the songs on Kurt's list, when he proved me wrong. "All for Leyna", which Kurt cleverly adapted to be all for Laya (Sugarplum) Café Musique's proprietress, who is responsible for all the smiles we've enjoyed.

Love song's come in all forms, and some of the ones that resonate most for me are the forlorn love songs. Kurt didn't disappoint with his version of "Stiletto" ("You've been locked outside the door, But you stand there pleading, With your insides bleeding, Cause you deep down want some more". If you've never known a woman like that you might be lucky, but I think not (but just the one, trust me)).

When Kurt started with nearly obligatory "Piano Man" I paused to reflect on how many times Billy Joel must have played this song, and what it means to him. We can rest assured, from his perfect delivery, Kurt has performed this song many, many times, yet still kept it fresh and exciting for us on this Friday Eve. The last Billy Joel song of this wonderful hour was "Uptown Girl". Yet another song I can relate to. I am the antithesis of "Uptown".

Remember how I said this was an "(Almost) All Billy Joel" hour? Kurt took requests, and the one was for a non-Billy Joel song. While I would have enjoyed a kickin' version of "Only The Good Die Young", I was not disappointed with Kurt's version of The Band's "Cripple Creek"

Singer, songwriter, musician, sailor - Kurt's shows offer a variety of musical styles, from high energy rock to quiet ballads, from well-known hit covers to lesser-known and original songs, some even written specifically for Second Life! All music is performed live on his digital keyboard, with drums and vocal harmonies layered in for a more interesting sound. Kurt works hard to bring new set line-ups to the stage every week in order to keep your listening experience fresh.

Kurt loves requests! Select from his 200-song list of covers and originals and he'll gladly add it to the show for you! Or, if you can't find your favorite song, contact Kurt and suggest that he add it - Kurt has discovered many of his favorite songs through audience suggestions! In RL, Kurt has been involved in a wide variety of activities involving his first love, music: conducting pit orchestras for music theater productions; appearing on stage as an actor, singer, dancer and musician; singing with the 125-voice May Festival Chorus in a professional, classical music venue; vocal directing; song writing; studio recording.