Today was one of the hottest on record for my little corner of the world (as well as a more substantial corner of the mainland), and I was quite content to spend a lot of it inside the cool confines of my basement office finishing off some items to get my blogging website up and running. As I finished, I was pleased to feel that familiar feeling that there was a blog to be done and I was finally back in the mood to do it!
I had a look through my offline messages and notices that had piled up and I saw that JimmyT49 Dukes was at Swamp Water Blues beginning at 7 (which is always great) but what really caught my eye this evening was that Noma Falta was to follow Jimmy at 8. I had done a blog on Noma back in April, while I was still relatively new at it, working for Droppin The Stream (Harlow's LIve Music Blog):
https://harlowsblog.wixsite.com/droppingthestream/post/noma-falta-swampwaterbluesclub-03-04-21
I got excited at the thought I could do an update on my own website for Noma. I got ahold of my better half, Roxie, gathered my little backpack of blogging stuff and we headed out. Little did I realize that the outside temperature wasn't the only thing that was going to be record breaking hot this night.
Noma Falta has been a fixture in the Second Life Live Music Scene for the last 12 years. It has become the primary place for her to share a Live Concert-like experience with the extra personal touches you can only experience in Second Life. It's also allowed her to connect with her fans and collaborators in music and art around the world. Her shows are definitely world-class entertainment and always worth seeing if you can catch her.
And Swamp Water Blues Club is about the best place I can think of to catch a show like what we experienced tonight. The venue is set up, and large enough, for the very best that SL has to offer. Owners Mina Weissbrod and QueenPhyra and host Mr. Pete are about the most friendly, welcoming and entertaining bunch to have as a background to the best in Live Blues in SL.
We arrived just before the rush of the crowd and set ourselves up in a prime spot for the concert. The place filled up as expected and Jimmy put on an outstanding performance and seemed at the top of his game as we listened to the set. He was also quite excited at the end as he called for Noma to take the stream, and take it, she did.
She began with Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Somehow, Somewhere, Someway and her clear, powerful voice and top notch musicianship filled the summer air with the sweet sounds of the Blues. She continued without a hitch through some of my favorite tunes and as she effortlessly coasted through Midnight Blues by Gary Moore, I realized I had that smile on my face that I get when I am impressed by a riff or a passage presented by a master and I could feel those little rushes and tingles up and down my arms as the goosebumps form.
This was simply THE BLUES, and, without question, it was the best the Blues gets! Although I do have to qualify that statement, as it did get better right away when we were treated to a very rare and special dual stream surprise as Jimmy returned to help out with I'll Take Care of You, and these two artists demonstrated that they are truly the Queen and King of The Blues in SL. An absolutely OUTSTANDING performance of a classic!
Noma then continued solo through a great presentation of Blues Deluxe (that had Jimmy foaming at the mouth to be part of), and then into a rendition of Everything
Is Broken brought forth by a holy-moly-sideways-wildness-of-"bluestacy" that she tore through at a break-neck pace that reduced me to one syllable words like "wow" and two word single syllables like "oh...my"!
Noma just DOES IT, and she does it taking no prisoners. She is so damn tight and professional in her delivery of her numbers and "asides" that it is an absolute pleasure to experience. She is the Real Deal and her final tune for the night: Etta James' I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) brought us reluctantly back to earth and set us gently down in a very well done piano induced daze.
Thank You so Much Ms Noma Falta for the most amazing evening and some of the Best Blues one can find in SL.
And a special Thanks to JimmyT49 Dukes for his surprise appearance, and just for being Jimmy!
And be sure to check out my Profile picks to find out about the Dual Stream Event that Noma has coming up with a number of the hottest players in SL right now.
Set aside Sunday afternoon, July 11 from 4pm to 6pm SLT and get the LM from my pick for this truly special experience. I will definitely see you there!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Grand%20Strand/142/126/2502
