LIL EGYPT HAS TALENT

by jenny heying

Curiously, I flew on down to Lil Egypt for the kickoff of the thirteen week Second Life® version of reality music shows called “Lil Egypt Has Talent”. The premise; each performer has ten minutes to sway the judges with each Monday’s winner coming back for the next round beginning October 5th. But enough about the contest lets look at the ten minute performances on opening night (eleven performers scheduled).

LoveSongs Writer is a Columbia singer/songwriter and from what I could here, seems pretty talented. However with my volume turned up as loud as it would go, I could barely hear him. Straining a lot, I did manage to pick up some of the Spanish melodies but faintly. While I didn’t make out the names of the songs, I particularly enjoyed the ballads he sang. Something about Latin music that just makes you feel romantic. I’ll have to take him in again sometime.

The stream was so much better when Capos Calderwood took the stage. With definite country flair, Capos jumped into a ditty about Second Life®. While I’m not a country music fan, Capos was entertaining whether at a fast tempo or slowing things down. He has a sweet yet fun voice that just beckons you to listen. With “Stranded”, he let his talent show with what turned out to be a quirky fun song.


After a lengthy stream change, Helena Ariantho was rescheduled to 7PM and Loren Andretti jumped in behind the microphone. In keeping with the self accompaniment on the guitar, Loren strummed through a short dreamy set. With a voice slightly reminiscent of Jim Morrison, I got a little dreamy eyed as well. The songs he did were lively and his voice was strong enough to come through the stream clearly.

With Monday night lag being what it is; Matthew Perreault was unable to get it together, SL wise, with Lexie Luan presenting herself next on stage. Lexi has a strong vocal presence and with “Throw Away Girl”, she brought some life to the stage. She’s a powerful singer who is more than adequate with her guitar. The sets being short, her second and final song “I Could Get Used To You” is an original song performed with a sultry flare that I feel is part of what Lexie’s show is about.

FacelessAPe Mefusala, complete with purple skin, kept with the guitar playing theme tonight. Actually, he’s an amazing guitar player. While his guitar playing may be his strong suit, his voice isn’t that far behind. On “Tupelo Honey”, both were amazing. He sings with passion with his axe providing the support. Following with “She Talks To Angels” made me a Faceless fan. I’m checking his schedule for the week.

It makes for a long night but you can pop in anytime throughout the two hour show and stay for as many artists as you wish. Being extremely busy (yeah that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) I couldn’t stay for the whole event but I left it in the good hands of the 40 or so in attendance. My apologies to the balance of the performers.

The idea of a talent extravaganza is one I like. As someone who tries to see as many artists as possible, it’s a great way to get a sampling of a lot of them in a short space of time. If you’re not sure who to see, you can see them all here and then venture out to capture an entire performance at a later date. Does Second Life® have talent? You’ll find out at Lil Egypt.

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LEXIE LUAN "Marvelous, Marvelous"

by stratford juliesse

When I first signed on to do reviews, I figured I’d be watching a lot of folksy type men playing their acoustic guitars. But man, chicks with guitars? God I love my job. Well Lexie Luan was sweet on the eyes and the ears. I caught her at Sensual Paradyce and with her opening number “Stranded”, I felt the vibe. From that point on, I was a Lexie fan, big time.

I’m not sure why I haven’t seen her before since she’s been around since January 2006 but better late than never. While Lexi does do the usual female type stuff, you know the pissed off at my boyfriend, but I’m longing for you anyway type, her voice is powerful enough that you don’t mind. It’s strong, clear and resonates throughout. But that’s not all she does. On “I Believe In You” she showed us that she can get the blues as well as anyone. This Philly girl can belt them out like no other I’ve heard.

While her guitar playing was strong initially, which I liked, it kind of faded a bit but nonetheless she did an admirable job accompanying herself. On “Change Your Mind”, it was a little more noticeable, but then you don’t come to listen to her play the guitar. And while her voice is strong and suited to powerful songs, she holds her own on ballads. She softened it a bit for “Without Love” and that softness carries to her between song chat. Here she seems sweeter (not that she isn’t when she sings) and yes softer and sexier. I could sit all night and listen to her talk and if you knew me, you’d know that is something.

The downside of Lexie’s voice was when she tried to throw it out there, she’d miss and it sounded a bit more like screeching. Thankfully that didn’t happen a lot. Lexie sings with emotion. She gets into what she’s singing about and you feel for her. I felt for her. She’s a lady with a lot to say and she says it through her songs. She does original songs with the odd cover thrown in. She has a CD coming out in six weeks and I’m in line to get it.

Actually, Lexie Luan is pretty diverse. She surprised me. She changed the tempo with “You Know” and while it’s still about a guy (and okay not pissed at him, but…) it was catchy and the guitar had a cool riff that made my ears perk up. Surprise is good. In fact for the full hour, she had me shaking my head and saying “Wow, she does that too”. When she did “In The Air Tonight”, I lost my footing. It was that good and yes again, it caught me by surprise. Marvelous, Marvelous, Marvelous.

With 15 minutes to go in her set, her voice and guitar were glowing and the songs infectious. She sang with emotion and played with abandon. When she sings I love you, you think she’s aiming directly at you. She grabs you, doesn’t let go and you know, damn you don’t want her to let go. You want to say I Love you right back.

You know, it’s not a good thing that Second Life® is here for performers like this. It’s a good thing that the performers play in Second Life®. We should count ourselves lucky that we get a chance to hear them and virtually whenever we want. Lexie is definitely talented and writing and performing her own songs is simply incredible. She’s a pleasure to watch, and a joy to listen too. If you want proof, check her out and tell me I’m wrong. She finished off her set with more wonderful self penned tunes like “Throw Away Girl”, “Bring Your Heart Home” and “I Could Get Used To You”.
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Yes I love my job and artists like Lexie are the reason why. You can check her out on the web at www.myspace.com/thelexiesmithband and of course in world at a venue near you.

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