JimmyT @ The Venue - 20/07/2022
The Venue is a refit of an older establishment that has been put together in record time by the new owner, CandyKisses. She has done a great job of texturing and making all kinds of little places to go and dance or cuddle or just hang while you wait for the next act. The stage is awesome and has multiple levels (more on this later) and there should be no shortage of artists to enjoy either. Candy has been busy securing multiple dates for some of the top names in SL and some not so well known but that have very respectable reputations
Wednesday, all day and into the evening there were numerous artists scheduled for a big Grand Opening. It began in the afternoon with The Pianoman and continued with Star.Thiemem at 4pm. DJ Gro took the 5 to 7pm slot and pounded out one his great sets with lots of blues and requests. And, in my opinion, one of the premier performer in SL, JimmyT49 Dukes, capped the bill at 7:00pm slt.
I arrived a bit early and got myself a spot with a great view and got used to the vibe and found the dance intans and other important things like tip jars (gotta support the venue, yaknow). I was excited! There is so much more to this venue than just music, as I discovered during a first look on Monday with CandyKisses providing a preliminary tour of the sim.
As I waited for Jimmy to take the stage I said my hellos and did some camming around to get my bearings. It looks like a great place to explore and I'll have to have a better look in subsequent visits. With artists like we saw today it looks like we may be coming here for quite a bit......
The Venue has a great, multilevel dancefloor and I arrived to a modest crowd (about 30 folks) along with some of the days' artists staying or anticipating their sets. I love what Candy has done with the colours in the place... its not just all shades of gray. The addition of colour and the way things are laid out with circular areas connected by wide curve-edge steps is good contrast to the grays of the stone work and other finishes and gives you a sense of sophistication. You can come here in jeans and a "T" or dressed in a gown or tux. I love it!
DJ Gro spun a great set of music, as he always does, and I enjoyed it immensely, as I always do. Then Jimmy took control.
He got us right into it with BB King's "The Thrill Is Gone". Jimmy gets better every single time I see him and he has been doing a lot of tweaking and adding to his repertoire lately, giving us a great variety of tunes to choose from and request. (meanwhile the crowd has become respectable... up to 47) Next up was "Blue on Black"... and it was a great rendition, a little different. I'm not sure, but I thought I heard a little 12 string in there... and maybe on that 12 string was some help from Jeff Plumday?... at any rate, very nice tweaking and that good tune just became GREAT! Gave me goosebumps right off the top.... and as those goosebumps were just beginning to subside, Jimmy plunged us into probably one of my favorite tunes of all time: Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs"... and it just grabbed me with an audio assault about as heavy as it gets and Jimmy CAN be a little bit heavy... heheh
I really like this next tune. Its a newer one for Jimmy and its got everything... it kind of FADES IN and once in, Jimmy runs with it... giving us a great solo as he leads us into the DejaVooDoo HooDoo He Do sooooooo WELL! This is one of Jimmy's best new ones in my humble opinion... its a great leg-kicker and awesome for getting into a good groove. (63 people)
Next was a great "oldie" request by two fans at the same time: Whitesnake's "Fool For Your Lovin' No More", a new one to me from Jimmy who gives us a very good rendition with a drivin rhythm line pounding behind Jimmy's excellent vocals filled with just enough of that raspy whiskey-soaked-cigarette-smoked vocal style I absolutely love. It is something that makes him stand apart from others. He can do it all and, of course, JImmy's lead solo is speedy and has great tone! (and then there were 72 souls in da house!)
"In Case You Didn't Know" by Brett Young was next and Jimmy does such a good job it makes me melt every time I hear it... one of my all time faves from Jimmy... and I love the added layers lads... well done!
Hellfire is next... a Jimmy original, I believe... and he slams it out with that great tone he has been working on with Jeff and there were those killer vocals... it all goes together so you can SEE the fire and FEEL the heat....
"The Sound of Silence" is a Jimmy thang that hit me right off from the first time I heard him on May 7, 2021 when he was one of my first blogs. I was so impressed with the way he presented this one with the remade version by Disturbed, I was left awed, gut-punched and speechless, and I have experienced that everytime I have heard it since.
Jimmy's growth and refinement musically and vocally has progressed relentlessly over the last year and is just amazing. As I said in that first blog, JimmyT49 Dukes is one of the VERY best player/singers I have EVER seen, period. SL or RL. He can DO IT! GET OUT AND SEE THIS GUY!!!! If you can get in..... (up to 71 people now...).
John Mayer's "Gravity" next ... and what can one say? Its one of Jimmy's best and he does it perfectly.
Jimmy finished with his favorite song, Ed Sheeran's "Make It Rain" and its one of my favorites since the "beginning" as well. (72 stayed thru it all!)
It seems that in life there are turning points that create or provide a meeting place with your destiny. In May of 2021 that happened to me on a VERY special night when Jimmy returned to SL. This night, July 21, 2022, had that same special quality, that ultimate, intimate, experience that Jimmy can create and make it seem so effortless. Jimmy is a rare star in any world.
THANK YOU JIMMY! THIS WAS A SET TO REMEMBER!
Without a doubt, you NAILED it, Brother!
And
THANK YOU CANDYKISSES FOR A GREAT VENUE FOR US ALL TO EXPERIENCE THESE SPECIAL TIMES.
Get thee to THE VENUE! ASAP!