JESSY SOMMER "What A Difference!"

by julieanne rau

What a difference 5 ½ months can make! I was reading the Thump magazine review for Jessy, dated Oct 9th, 2008, and asking myself “Is this the same person?”

Jessy TP’d into Gia’s Fashion Cabaret and then moments later, the place filled up. It was like someone opened the front door of the building and the lineup poured in. Thirty Nine (39) people packed the joint and it stayed that way for the one hour long concert. I can see why, even I was enjoying her soft, sweet and yet clear voice.

Her setup is really good and even with her soft spoken voice, its clear. You can see this girl hasn’t played professionally, just by her mannerisms and yet, I wanted to hear what she was really capable of. She has a play list with over 100 songs, which does not include her original stuff – like her opening number “Safe Tonight”!

Her song selection is quite diverse considering that 5 ½ months ago, there was no song list. She played Brian Adams’ “Heaven”, Cat Stevens’ “The First Cut is the Deepest” and Prince’s “When Doves Cry” -- which surprised me as my favorite. Not that it sounded like the original, it didn’t!! But it was incredibly unique and fitting for her.

At the end of the performance, I asked her if she performs in Real Life and was half surprised and yet half not, that she doesn’t. She has a style that I’m drawn too. She’s comfortable being in the center and uses her microphone well in-between songs. I even felt it was a bit endearing, as she would do the 3 octave down pitch “du – du – du” as she searched for the lyrics for a requested song. I guess you will have to go to one of her concerts to really see what I mean.

My biggest criticisms would have to be two things. She is a giggler and tends to read the comments that people are making during her performance. Not a good idea at Gia’s, where most try to make the performer laugh anyways. It was all about peeing this time round! Yes, it is another reason you have to come to this place! Even the audience comments. “It’s cute she giggles – during the song”, I heard Meat Supply say. The second is how she ends a song, it’s difficult to explain but it’s like the last note of the lyrics is the song ending and the accompanied guitar ends at the same time. Very weird as the crowd gives you that 2 second pregnant-pause and then applauds. Maybe that is something to work on?

.

Frankly, if this is the progress she has made in 5 ½ months I can’t wait for the next half of the year!!

Read Rest of Review......

JESSY SOMMER "Golden Voice"

by jenny heying

Jessy Sommer is Australian. Why do I say that? Well it means she's polite. I seem to find that in most people from Australia. She's new to Second Life ™ (April 08) and to the music scene here. But if nervousness was a factor, I didn't notice it.

Jessy opened at the Drunken Drow with "Where I Stood" and although she didn't knock me off my feet immediately, she did do a decent job. Now maybe it's because I've seen a lot of Australian performers lately that I'm comparing her to them. Okay, she's not in some of their leagues, but she is better than a lot of Second Life ™ Performers. She has a number of pluses. First, she can sing. It's not a voice that grabs you and commands attention, but it is very good. On Twenty Good Reasons, her voice and confidence seemed to pick up.

The problem with Jessy and a lot of female Aussies, is that in between songs it's very hard to hear them. Not because of the accent, but because they are very soft spoken. Americans tend to blurt things out while Aussies hold a conversation. No problem here, while I didn't catch the name of the Australian songs, they were a pleasure to listen to. This is Me showcased Jessy's style and voice. She sings about love and lost love, relationships and lack of relationships. Jessy tells the story well.

A trend these days in this virtual music world is tossing aside the backing tracks and playing instruments. It's something that was long overdue here. Jessy continues the trend, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. Strumming along to her songs adds that live feel to it as evidenced on Right Here Waiting For You. While she's no Jimmy Page, she does know how to play.

Jessy followed with Another Day in Paradise and Travelling Soldier. On both songs, she had that Dixie Chicks sound, which was good for those particular tunes. Jessy grows on you. I felt that with I Am The Highway. She seems to improve the more you listen. And on Lay Me Down, she did lay me down. I was not only warming up to her voice, but really really enjoying it.

She doesn't come with a set list. She plays what she feels and when she feels it. It's fitting. She seems like a free spirit, albeit one with romanticism in her heart. Fall To Pieces had that feeling from her. You could have sworn she wrote it. If there's baggage here, it's not cruel. Her songs of love are dramatic and teary eyed but not hurtful. She makes you long for lost loves.

She may be new to the music scene, but by all accounts she should be around for awhile. That is unless the real world snaps her up which wouldn't surprise me. It's so refreshing to hear artists in Second Life ™ who really are artists. Jessy fits that bill to a T. A golden voice, a musician, a story teller, and well maybe a touch of an accent. Okay she has one.

Angels, Waterfalls, and Ugly continued you down that heartbroken trail. She's refreshingly unpolished and tends to giggle a lot, but it adds to the live feel again. You do feel like you are watching her in a club somewhere. Burn and Out of Reach finished a marvelous set by this talented singer from down under. You don't need to jot her name down, you'll hear it a lot.

Read Rest of Review......