Jazz Venue: All That Jazz

Update, July 19, 2008: All That Jazz is now closed and gone. It was great while it lasted. Thanks for the memories.

Martini in the Morning regulars and Lounge Lizards in Exile will recognize this place from the Tuesday edition of the two martini lunch. Many Tuesdays will find the Second Life chapter of the Lounge Lizards in Exile meeting at All That Jazz to dance, chat, relax and have a great time. If you haven't been there before, here is a brief look to give you a sense of what it's like.

The dance floor:


One can see that the club is on the water and outdoors. A person can show up here in their beach outfits and not feel out of place. There are also some nice shops around the club to explore.

Trying my hand at the piano:


This must be why there's no one here ;) I'm "playing" the piano. Quite badly I'm sure.

Hanging out at the bar:


Very comfy bar stools. I could spend all day here. Oh wait. I did. Oops.

Jazz Selections: 30's Jazz Clubs, Part 2 of 2

Hello again! Well, I'm dragging you (the interested reader) back even further from the great lounge era that Bennett was enjoying, back to the 1930's, with the second part of this series. Mr. Humphrey Bogart, and the legendary movie Casablanca has left its indelible mark on this era & genre of Jazz in SL. I was surprised to find how many Casablanca-related clubs there were in SL, similar but as always in SL, different. Without further ado, lets continue...



A bit non-descript, but part of its charm

Moonlight Club

This club is a small build, and it appears to be an homage build to the movie. Not much in the club beyond chairs, a bar (of course), and a nice outdoor walkway. However, for a quiet and romantic getaway, the Moonlight club is merits a visit.



The spartan interior - plenty of room to dance!

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Main fountain with the club's advert

Rick's Casablanca Dance Resort

This club has me a bit confounded. I've heard of clubs that have a "cover charge", but Rick's Casablanca Dance Resort was the first I actually visits that had one. Paid my token lindens to enter through the pink door (only L$ 10), and waltzed up to informational placards.



Area where the "cover charge" is requested

The build comprises of a Jazz dance area, and an adjoining more modern dance area. Focusing on the Jazz area, I do admit the build is nice, the floor is spacious, but... from a customer and a business viewpoint, I'm still stuck on the "cover charge".



Signs & maps of the area

With the multitude of clubs in SL, to require a "cover" to visit a club is either a means to discourage people from visiting (e.g. an exclusive organisation), or to control the number of visitor at the club. Both seem to be counter-intuitive to maximizing profitability in an SL club. I figure one would want to entice visitors to come to the club (especially new avs).



The large (and empty) ballroom)

I do wish them luck with their venture, but that was the last cover I'll be donating to Rick's Casablanca Dance Resort. There are a plenitude of other clubs in SL that are at least as good, with no entrance fee.

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Classic enterance area - Bespeaks well of the movie its from!

Rick's Cafe American

This club is a nice build, with an attractive entrance, large dance floor, bar (yay!), and a small beach overlooking sunsets (when properly rendered)!



The dance floor at Rick's Cafe American

Unfortunately, it was a bit empty the times I visited it, and had difficulties "nailing down" a schedule, so do consider a visit - it does have quite a bit of potential!

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Rick's

Speaking of potential, Rick's fits this category in so many ways. As part of Calibur's sim, Rick's is easily one of the most magnificent Jazz ballrooms I've encountered in SL.



Just inside the entrance to the main entrance area

Unfortunately, attending events is a vexing proposition - I've attempted to join its group a number of times, and dropping in at different RL times, but to my consternation, I have never seen any action at this club.



Stunning Ballroom at Rick's

Beautiful but empty - a sad state of affairs! Perhaps with a bit of luck I'll drop in when it is "hopping", but with my luck, I'm not counting on it!




"Hellooooo! Need a bit of happiness here! Hellooooo!"

Jazz Venue: Tony's Jazz Lounge

This time I'll be taking a look at Tony's Jazz Lounge. I found it via a Second Life™ chapter of the Lounge Lizards in Exile event. It was a Friday edition of the 2 Martini Lunch I believe. I followed the teleport link provided by the group announcement.

Sidebar: If you're not a member of the Lounge Lizards in Exile, perhaps consider joining. There are usually two weekly events: 2 Martini Tuesdays and the 2 Martini Lunch on Friday. Just search for the group and join. It's free. Also consider joining the group for Tony's Jazz Lounge for weekly announcements about what's happening at the club. It's definitely not spammy like some groups can be.

The teleport link deposited me right at the front door. The club is contiguous with the Rivers of Venus gardens (more on that later) in the sky, so lag is not as much of an issue as some other places. I took the pictures when no one was around, but even when packed out I found the lag tolerable on my decrepit hardware.



To enter, one simply goes down the stairs. One comes to the bar first, but I'm going to skip that for now and go straight to the dance floor. The atmosphere is incredible. The place just oozes cool, even when its not busy. The blue cast is not from post processing, that's the way it really is. The normal music stream is the Martini In the Morning stream, however there are live events throughout the week of both music and stand up comedy.



While I was there, I ran into the very friendly proprietor, Absolut Smirnov. She is most helpful. Thank you Absolut for letting me run all over your club and take lots of pictures!



Now that I had a complete tour, it was time to head back to the bar. The bartender was quite skilled and could make an excellent Long Island Iced Tea. I better keep moving before they have to pour me out of here.



Upon exiting the club, one finds themselves in the midst of the Rivers of Venus gardens. The gardens are a great place to find a secluded spot with your sweetie or just enjoy the scenery.

The scenery at Rivers of Venus:


A nice spot to relax:


A couple could make an entire, romantic evening out of dancing at Tony's Jazz Club and then lounging in Rivers of Venus.

Because it's not very common, and because I really like the idea, I'm sharing the URL for the Rivers of Venus blog outside Second Life™: http://www.riversofvenus.blogspot.com/ There you will find info about current events at Rivers of Venus and Tony's Jazz Lounge.

Until next time,

Bennett Smythe