CASPER PAPERDOLL "The Show Begins"

by jenny heying

Every once in a while you get to catch the Second Life ™ debut performance by an artist. This week at Harmony Beach, I caught Casper Paperdoll's first ever show in Second Life ™. You kind of expect opening night jitters and a mistake or two, but this night there was none of those. Volume could have been a touch louder, but I just raised mine and it was kewl.

Casper is a presence behind his piano and really plays the piano as an accompaniment. His songs are mellow but powerful and dramatic. While I'm used to review rock performances, this one did leave me a little breathless. Casper does covers, as most do, but in this case you'd hardly know it. Covers of Avril Lavigne and Paul McCartney are just a few, but I had to be told to know they were covers. I know that sounds bad, but really it's good. The songs were simply amazing and his ability to make them completely his own was incredible. Mr. Paperdoll truly is a piano player at heart. You can hear it in what he plays. But he does have a voice that suits his style. It is very good.

Actually part way through his set I did start to recognize the songs. It was incredible how that happened. Actually that's kind of the fun thing about attending a Casper Paperdoll concert, trying to name the covers. I got pretty good at it. And although I'm bias, living in New Orleans, when he did Louisiana (Randy Newman/Aaron Neville), I almost cried. It's a fantastic song and Casper did it justice. Mind you, everything he did, i felt the same way about.

Halfway through, Casper put the piano aside and switched to backing tracks. Yes, it had me worried a bit. But his tracks were unassuming as backing tracks should be. His voice was prominent and clear. Make Your Own Kind Of Music was simply superb. He nailed it. From rock to show tunes, yes that's right show tunes. And it was perfect. At one point I felt like I was watching A Chorus Line. But I wasn't. I was watching an incredible musician/singer in Second Life.

Casper's shows are fun. Light, humorous and full of energy, even though the songs are more mellow. To give you an example, Superstar (Carpenters) was upbeat and enjoyable. But I really think that's what Casper whats from you. And then into Billy Joel's When We Came To Leningrad, Casper crosses the barriers. I can even imagine him doing a hip hop song. (no he didn't).

Casper is a musician. You can see that. He's apologetic about his pitch and tone, but compared to a lot of artists here, Casper is miles above and beyond. He knows what he's doing, but not pretentious about it. He's enjoyable and wants you to enjoy him. You do. He moves from piano to backing tracks to piano at will and whichever he uses, fits.

Catch Casper, because soon, you'll have a tough time getting into his shows. And btw, name the songs, it's fun.