I haven't been fully active in my
Second Life for the past 6 or 7 years. Coming back into this world, I searched
for something familiar to remind me of why I loved it here back then. For me
that something familiar was always live music. There is no better way to get
re-acclimated to SL's live music scene than catching a Maximillion
"Max" Kleene show. He's a veteran performer in SL with the chops to
prove it.
I'm sure this isn't the first
time someone wrote a review of Max. He was performing in SL back when I was
working the scene; and he can still crush it like he did back then. My
intention is to write a critique from a fellow musician's point of view. In actuality,
this is going to sound more like a fanboy blog post. That's not from a lack of
objectivity, but rather from a string of nearly flawless performances.
It would be to easy to simply say
Max plays cover songs. Although he doesn't write the songs he performs, he puts
together arrangements with amazing artistry and craftsmanship. He performs
every tune with such conviction and heart that each song becomes his own.
A song like "Closing
Time" by Semisonic is practically standard issue for anyone playing cover
songs. Despite the countless times I've heard this song performed in SL clubs
and RL bars by every caliber of musician, Max makes it sound like the song was
specifically written for him to play. His rendition even includes insights of
lyrical analysis without ever missing a beat.
Max also played the Led Zepplin
classic "Going to California." He masterfully captures Robert Plant's
tenderness while adding his own vocal growl that projects and undeniable
emotional connection to the song. The same could be said for his rendition of
"Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. I will say that this song forces Max to
push into the higher end of his vocal range. Even though I'd like to see his
tweak the vocal arrangement just a touch, his guitar arrangement is so well crafted
that it is hard to imagine the full band original.
His version of "Elanor
Rigby" by the Beatles holds a special form of mastery. The original
recording from Revolver was performed by a string quartet. Max has arranged the
song for guitar in a way that not only captured the dark lyrics of the
original, but also highlights the haunting loneliness through his steady strong
strumming.
One more song from his set that
I'd like to highlight is the 1961 Audry Hepburn hit "Moon River" from
Breakfast at Tiffany's (not to be confused by the Deep Blue Something song by
the same name that Max also crushed the last time I saw him). The original
version of the song feels to me like it was a holdover from the music of the
late fifties. This could be due to covers by crooners like Frank Sinatra and
jazz artists like Louis Armstrong. Max, on the other hand, has arranged this
classic to feel like a contemporary hit. He uses a crooning style of his own
without ever trying to oversell it or give it that old timey feel that has come
to be expected with this song.
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