Standing Ovation

I like to go to live music events in SL. True, not everyone on the circuit really sings any better than I do in the shower, but there are a few true gems among the musicians you can hear play at these events, for a small tip or nothing at all if you happen to be broke. People like Cylindrian Rutabaga, Carmel Daines, OhMy Kidd, Forsythe Whitfield, Midnight McCarthy or Mankind Tracer, to name just a few, are excellent musicians and entertainers. I’d spend some real money any day for a chance to see them live on stage.

I’m also very grateful to those venue owners and managers who shoulder a lot of work and expense creating and maintaining the spaces for these musicians to play in, paying the bills, organizing the schedules, placing the ads and event notices etc., right down to being there and giving everyone coming in a friendly welcome. They are doing a great, important job, and I think it’s only right to show them some appreciation by making their tip jars jingle. If you don’t have any L$, even saying thank you will go a long way toward making them feel the whole thing is worth their effort.

Of course, apart from tipping and thanking people, there’s also that more traditional sign of appreciation: applause. I’ve made myself a little gesture for that purpose. It makes my avatar clap his hands for a few seconds, plays an appropriate sound of one person clapping and sends one short line to local chat: “Dylan Rickenbacker claps loudly!”

But here’s the problem. My little gesture makes sense only if it is noticed by the people I’m applauding. And that can be a near impossible task for them or anyone else.

Last night I went to a Carmel Daines gig. She’s a great singer with a really good repertoire of songs. I listened to her first song, and when she finished, I played my clapping gesture. But I never heard my own clapping, and I never got to see my chat line. Instead, the second Carmel ended her song, a Matrix style cascade of lines flooded my screen, too quickly for anyone to read (names have been shortened):

JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
KT Claps and Joins Applause
KT: ☆☆ Applause! ☆☆
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
LR: .-’`'-. APPLAUSE A BIG APPLAUSE .-’`'-.
KT Claps and Joins Applause
KT: ☆☆ Applause! ☆☆
LV: ♫♪♫♪ Applauds♪♫♪♫
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
JJ claps
DR claps loudly!
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
RL: coolio
JA: .♥-’`'-. GREAT .-’`'-.♥
JA: GREAT
JA: GREAT ENCORE GREAT
JA: ENCORE
JA:
JA:
LR: .-’`'-. APPLAUSE A BIG APPLAUSE .-’`'-.

Etc. ad lib.

This was accompanied by the sound of a medium-sized football stadium erupting in applause when Robbie Williams appears on the stage.

Now I’m really glad that the lady named JA enjoyed Carmel’s performance. I did too. But the way I understand applause, its purpose is to direct attention to the person receiving the applause, not the one giving it. The wildly over-the-top applause gesture that JA kept playing repeatedly after each song not only drowned out the voices of all others who wanted to show their enjoyment, including mine, but also Carmel’s own voice, because no one could hear what she was saying in between songs.

And not only in between songs. When I first joined SL, it was widely considered good form to limit local chat during musical performances to an absolute minimum and, if you absolutely had to say something, to precede it with a slash so no typing sound would be heard. This kind of restraint seems to have gone out of fashion. People are not only chatting away but even playing sound gestures during the songs.

I don’t know about you, but I feel that this type of behaviour has nothing to do with applause. It is uncivilised, it is disruptive, and people who do it should be banned from the venues. The first venue owner I see doing that will have 10 times the usual tip from me.

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