My recent visit to Boogeyman’s in Amainiris did not quite end at ground level. High above the region are two more places created by Ray (ray.dash) and Grace Loudon, both music venues, both contained within relatively small skyboxes, and yet remarkably different from one another.
What makes them worth visiting is not their size. It is what Ray and Grace have done with the space.
Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe
High above Boogeyman’s is Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe, a small, single storey venue with a colourful, relaxed bohemian atmosphere.
Large windows surround the room, with rain apparently falling outside, while inside almost every corner contains something to catch the eye. Brightly coloured furniture, lava lamps, hanging beads, paintings and an assortment of wonderfully eccentric characters give the room its personality.
There is Bob and Betty sitting quietly together on a bench. Elsewhere, Daisy swings happily overhead, while birds, animals and other unexpected inhabitants occupy their own little corners.
Individually, these are decorations. Put together, they make the room feel inhabited.
Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe celebrates the women of Second Life’s music scene, welcoming both instrumentalists and vocalists. Live performances currently take place on alternate Monday evenings at 5pm and 6pm SLT.
At other times there is an excellent Radio Paradise stream, and dances are available from the TIS Hybrid Dance Machine, including couple dances by Vista.
Visit: Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe, Amainiris
A Very Different Room
Travel down from Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe and you find Boogeyman’s Sound Control, another skybox music venue, but one that could hardly look more different.
Based around the Cabaret Skybox by Minimal, the experience begins with a long entrance corridor of red velvet curtains and candles. Beyond it lies a richly decorated performance room, dominated by deep reds, dark wood and an extraordinary ceiling filled with hanging lights.
Once again, however, it is the smaller details that make the place memorable.
The walls, shelves and corners are packed with curiosities. There are books and ornaments, framed pictures, strange creatures, a mechanical fortune teller, a giraffe mount, a stuffed bear, a live owl and even the skeleton of a mermaid. A converted telephone box has become a marine aquarium.
It would be very easy to walk into Sound Control, look towards the stage and miss half of it.
Instead, wander around.
Look at the shelves, peer behind things, and do not forget to look upwards. Some objects are amusing, some are beautiful, and others are simply peculiar. As a result, they turn what could have been just another performance venue into something closer to a theatrical cabinet of curiosities.
Live performances currently take place on alternate Fridays at 12pm and 1pm SLT. Dress is casual and everyone is welcome.
Visit: Boogeyman’s Sound Control, Amainiris
More Than Somewhere to Hear Music
Although both venues were created primarily for live music, they are worth visiting even when nobody is performing.
Second Life contains plenty of impressive landscapes and enormous builds. Boogeyman’s-Groovy Girl Cafe and Boogeyman’s Sound Control demonstrate something rather different. A small room can become a destination in its own right when somebody fills it with imagination, humour and countless details waiting to be noticed.
And if you have already explored Boogeyman’s below, remember to look upwards. There is considerably more of Amainiris floating above your head.
Exploring Second Life
If you’d like to see more places like this, follow my blog, Exploring Second Life, where I share both the grand builds and the smaller “quick stops” that make the grid so rewarding.
Join us in the Second Life Destinations Facebook Group, where bloggers share new finds.
Photographers: post your snapshots in the Second Life Destinations Flickr Group.