Some of the Best Concert Venues of 2024- Tabitha Mercury Reporting...

 

Donning a backless black top, form-fitting jeans and complimentary heels I left my humble home on a quest to spend my Friday checking out concert venues and seeing which ones stood out the best. I got out my list of researched sets to check out and started.

After arriving on the Dream of Sylt sim, at the .semicolon. venue, I was greeted with the voice of Anilaik, performing rock and sounding really good. It was a mid-sized venue that was rather crowded by the stage, with plenty of seating around. I could see people enjoying shows here.

Next, I popped over to End of Time, located on the Eotia sim. I was greeted with a ground level, open air venue surrounded by forestry. There was a smaller crowd at this venue, there was enough standing, dancing, and seating room. Mel Cheeky was on stage performing to a crowd that they seemed to have a fan base in. 

Ahh, the good ole Blarney Stone! This pub is located on the Dublin sim and claims the “Oldest Pub in SL” title. Central bar, stage at the back of the pub, not much has changed. Oddly, not as friendly of a crowd as I remembered. I think this was the only club the host didn’t greet me in. I found that very strange for one of SL’s oldest venues. Must be a weird fluke. This venue is great for live singers and truly built for it. In the traditional style of an Irish pub, The Blarney Stone has ruled in SL for years as a go to for entertainment.

Next I went to another fairly well known concert venue, Cafe Musique. I have been here before to watch artists perform and knew a bit about what to expect. Located on the Sandness sim, Cafe Musique’s beach venue is where I normally end up for concerts. This is also an open air venue, which was established in 2015. That does usually make for a low fps. It’s a friendly atmosphere that has a good dance area with dance pads and limited seating. I enjoyed the stylings of Dandy Pianoman when I visited.

Bright colors, romantic scenery, photo ops and breathtaking moments can be had at this next sim, the Romantica sim. Home to a concert venue (amphitheater) that features live singers, such as Leo Brind, who I found to be engaging and amusing. Surprisingly, this open air design had a higher fps than most open air venues I had been to. A huge dance floor beckons you, dotted with bright colored lights, to make your romantic side take over. This place is made for weddings and proposals, so let your heart lead you!

The last club I went to was Hotel Chelsea, located on the Lanestris sim for the Reno Jones performance. I enjoyed his musical stylings and took in the scenery around me. I felt the decor was disjointed and could use an update. There was plenty of standing, dancing, and seating for the small crowd that had arrived for this show. There was low fps, but that seems to be the case with most of the venues I have seen.

Oh, you thought I was done? Oh no, dolls…I saved the best for last!

As I was seeing which place I wanted to head to next, after the stunning Romantica, I got a group message from my favorite SL performer letting me know she was doing an unscheduled set at a venue I had never been to. What timing!

I was off to Exotic Escape Club on the Dragon Field sim to watch Mavenn, the songstress of my soul, perform. This was an open air set up with a great dance floor with dance pads - single and couples set up. There was a serious stage set up where speakers lined it along with lights. I was welcomed right away, everyone seemed very friendly and approachable, including the staff. I panned around the sim and enjoyed what I saw, so I IMed one of the owners, Nap, who was present and asked them how long they have been open. I was shocked to find out they have only been around since August of 2023.  There is a lot to see and do on this sim and surprisingly it had good fps, considering all there is to see, with plenty of room to dance or sit. I approached the other owner, Aufreizend Lexico and had to ask her what inspired her to create a live music venue and what her hopes are for the future of Exotic Escape Club. 

Aufreizend: I was in SL 13 years ago and help manage another club. A year ago came back with a vision to own and manage a better club that is Romantic, Classy, Exciting , Naughty ,Fun and cater to most people’s dreams in SL.The club had to be classy with limited rules..RL has so many rules already..Sl is all about fun and making your dreams come alive ., I found that PG Clubs cannot provide this type of environment and yet be fun. .I have a great Team here at Exotic Escape and without them , my visions would have never came true. Making it one of the most visited Music Venues in SL with the Best Live Singers doing incredible shows for the audience (and) start live streaming for our singers.We are currently a Live Singer Venue and are always looking for good entertainment throughout SL.  We are researching how DJs will fit into our entertainment stream. We also have spaces for vendors within our sim and are actively looking for vendors to fill our space.. Bringing people together so we all can enjoy SL without the drama of RL.

In conclusion, SL has a plethora of venues to choose from and all have their good and bad qualities. I feel that Exotic Escape Club is an up and coming venue with lots to offer and I am definitely going to keep my eye on it. They have a friendly staff, not limited to the owners - Nap, Aufreizend, and Lieve Annette, it also includes the manager Billy Miner, and their entertainment Manager - Boom Boom Karrie. This sim was created with much love to fit into Aufreizend’s dream by herself, Nap, and KaL, along with all the hard work from their staff to keep it running.

SL URL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dragon%20Field/91/225/26

Adult Sim, check out the events board at the landing point for more info!