Ephemeral Pixels and Lasting Memories

They say it's only a pixel moon

Sailing over a cyber sea,

But it wouldn't be make believe

If you believed in me.

-Lyndon Heart, "Pixel Moon"

Virtual space is an ephemeral thing by nature.  Formed of pixels, programming and the pulse of electricity, the web is as ever-changing as the minds that drive it.  Second Life is no exception.  Sims grow, move, change hands, languish, or disappear just as, say, blogs do.  I've been there for a matter of months and I can already provide examples of each.  And yet, the loss (or, clinging to hope, potential loss) of Molaskey's Pub was an idea that never quite occurred to me.

As of St. Patrick's Day, 2011, Molaskey's Pub is four years old.  As virtual space goes, it's an institution.  And, as far as I can tell, it's iconic among Second Life live music venues.  How can it not be?  Visually, its anchor is the pub itself, built on sturdy pixel bricks on the shore of a tideless digital ocean.  Surrounded by beaches, rivers, shops and galleries, it's a beautifully detailed gathering space.  My favorite stage floats in the water just off the Bonfire Beach, overlooked by glittering palm trees and the pub's shining golden signs.  A circular stage with cushioned seating, it encourages an intimacy that the  rectangular area above and behind it doesn't quite accomplish.

Chapman Zane on the Bonfire Beach stage.  21 February, 2011.

Molaskey's was created by Katydid Something, Apple MacKay, and Nasus Dumart.  It has been run with love and enthusiasm by its founders and Mia Kitchensink, host, shop-owner and long-time supporter of the venue, for all those years.  Stace Silvercloud, also a host, joined the Molaskey's family about five months ago or so.  I'm a host now, too, and after two short months, that hasn't sunk in and probably never will.

I've blogged about this place before.  How my first time there wasn't for a concert, but for a set of Celtic tunes spun by Molaskey's DJ, BJ Farlight.  It was just what I'd needed at the time, and I'll remember that as clearly as the first live concert I heard at the pub.

I went to my first concert there on a whim.  It was a Sunday beach stage lineup of Tone Uriza, Lyndon Heart, and Gypsy Quixote, which left me expecting a more bluesy venue than it really turned out to be.  Going to the concerts two or three days a week quickly got to be a habit.  It was a routine escape into consistently good, wonderfully live music by a long list of great artists, and all of that in the company of friends.  Virtual space it may be, but the interaction between the audience and the performer is real.  It's not just the singer/songwriters, streaming across states, continents, and oceans, that bring the music.  A good crowd brings it, too.  If you've ever heard John Cage's 4'33", you know this especially well.  My favorite times, as an audience member, have been when the group gets quippy, laughing and building on a joke that may or may not be tangentially related to the music.  Having fun, as we let the notes wash over us just as surely as the warm cyber sea washes over the sand pixel beach, makes the concerts real.

Virtual space is ephemeral.  Individual memories often are as well.  Shared memories, however, live on, and whatever happens come May, we have the rest of April to make them.  I have to believe they'll be glorious.  See you at the pub.

Lyndon Heart performing "Pixel Moon" back in October, at the first concert I heard.

Molaskey Monday (3 January, 2010)

Troy Shoreland, aka DarkShore, opened the Monday Molaskey's concert on January 3rd with some beautiful smooth acoustic guitar, and matched that with a smooth rock sort of voice.  Well, maybe his voice has a bit more of an edge to it than his guitar, but, you know, not much gravel there.  Very chill, lovely range.  I am all for that.  (Molaskey's gets a lot of chill.  Again, all for that.)  Anyway, I do need to learn more about his band.  It was my first time hearing him, and it was a great first impression.  Particularly liked the guitar.


Who is that lovely couple dancing in front of the stage?  Anybody remember?


And then…  Capos Calderwood.  I always like Capos.  He's very folksy and easy-going, and I mean that both in terms of music and attitude.  They're one and the same, really.  He absolutely has a good time and he lets you know, both in and between songs.  His wife, Marti, chimed in on one song in the first half of the set, and the harmony was beautiful.  I've heard her before.  Pleasant surprises, they happen!


Still dancing!


Then about midway through the set he really got going on an instrumental bit.  His singing's excellent, but I'm a sucker for, well, instrumentals.  Naturally, it was about midway through the set that a choice was presented to me.  Go to a different venue and hear CraigLyons Writer, or… stay for TallGuy?


Turns out, I was in the mood for laid-back Texas folk.  And humor.  Very much so.  So, you know, I stayed for TallGuy Kidd.  He has all of that, with a deep warm voice that I mostly just let wash over me for the first half of the set, because it was ten at night by that time.  He did sing "Always Trust Your Cape."  It was the second rendition of the night, and it's a sweet song.  By Guy Clark, apparently.  And both covers were great!  (Now to look up the original!)  He closed the evening with "The Water Is Wide," which is a great note to end on, but in between there was fun and kazoo-based audience participation.  Kazoos are good alertness aid.


Closeup of TallGuy.  I love his dreamcatcher!


Since SL was cooperating, I risked camming around and playing with audience snapshots.  Here's a bird's-eye view of the audience about midway through his hour.  It was a good crowd, and isn't that set-up grand?  I do miss swimming by the floating stage, but the ice rink sure is fun!


Hard to pick out individuals, but Mia in her red dress, near the middle, stands out.


And here's a view of the TallGuy show.  The audience at this place is very diverse.  There are definitely regulars, but you never quite know who (or what) will drop in to catch the music.


How many bunnies can you see in this picture?  (I think they've been multiplying...)  Oh, and that's me with the blue hair.


So, yes, it was a fun night, as usual.  Catch you on the grid!