SL Music Scene

Concerts or anything music related with Second Life is an activity that I have enjoyed taking part in. With music, you like what you like, and dislike what you dislike, it's as simple as that. Therefore, in SL when I see a dragon avatar at a rock concert I can get a sense of who is actually behind the avatar. The music allows me to see connections that I may not have previously made. The weird thing about listening to music in SL is that I feel detached from my avatar. The music is more of a personal enjoyment for myself and its hard to share those emotions through offbeat dancing. Nevertheless music is still a great way to form communities in second life.

I attended a music event a few days ago after I was invited by a friend. To participate properly I had to switch from my laptop to my personal computer. The music was being streamed by a dj and ranged from Queen to Zeppelin. The location was a little joint known as "buddy's bar", that had about 10 - 15 people in there listening.

Everyone there was rocking out either with the dance balls available or their own animations. An interesting thing is how much interaction there is between the avatars attending the event. There is constant socializing, most of which actually concerns what is being streamed at the time. The DJ also had a part, often interrupting the songs with his own dialogue and comments on what everyone was doing. While it feels really awkward at first to make your character react to the way you're feeling in real life, the social interactions allow for the process to work.

As I write this I am attending a John Mellencamp concert, of course it is not live, but it is still his live streamed music. This event is more entertaining then the bar which had a DJ, you can notice more time went in to planning the concert. The avatars are up on stage, dressed like their particular musicians and playing along with their instruments.