By Michael Shaffer
Ever heard of Video Games Live? Think of some of the best video game music that’s out there played by an orchestra and chorale, with short films, live video game play on a massive screen, and a general celebration of the art and craft of video games all crammed into a show. Interested? Sure you are. Now add in Tommy Tallarico as host/performer and Emmanuel Fratianni as conductor. Check out those credits.
Go on. I’ll wait.
…
Sportin’ a gamer’s semi yet?
I bet you are.
Tallarico and Fratianni look quite polished in their respective performances, even with some technical errors that were clearly out of their control. Both get involved beyond simply introducing bits and songs, but we get Tallarico playing along on guitar and and Fratianni expressing some seriously game-specific humor that flies in the face of the traditional and stuffy image that some folks still have about conductors. These guys know their audience and they killed it.
My family missed the pre-show, but if you have the time you can show up early and take part in a Guitar Hero competition with the prize of playing front and center on the big screen with a live orchestra later in the performance. Our show had a winner who took on the challenge with gusto, cranking it up to 11 for the live performance and playing on Expert when challenged by the host to hit a 350K score on Hard mode with 1 song of Tallarico’s choosing, in 1 try, no practice, for a prize. He destroyed it and the crowd ate it up like Kirby on a cheat day.
Music-wise, expect to hear some of your favorite game tunes and medleys from some of the strongest franchises out there. Mario Bros? Check. Zelda? Check. Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Halo? Check check check. And all of these favorites will be accompanied by visuals played on the projector screens on the stage. Oh, and bring your singing voice because sing-a-longs are awesome. Fancy a live Frogger competition with a soundtrack by a live orchestra to boot? Yeah, it’s got that and more.
A major highlight based on the laughter was the short movies between songs. Some animated, some live action, all amazing. For most of these little sideshows it will help to have an understanding internet and video game tropes, but lacking won’t leave you hanging. Really, they are like the best parts of the Internet and gaming getting tossed onto the stage for your amusement, minus all the porn. Bring your sense of humor, but leave the tissues at home.
Need more proof that it is worth a ticket? First off, the prices (on their website), seem completely reasonable, though they vary by venue. Not good enough? I took my parents — people in their 50’s — and between them I think my dad has played about an hour of “Doom” and my mother doesn’t even mess with Solitaire on the computer, but they both enjoyed it, even while game specific references went completely over their heads (think: “All your base are belong to us”). There was still plenty for them to enjoy. Besides, video game music has come a hell of a long way from the beeps and bloops of “Pac-Man” and “Space Invader.”
Still not good enough? Why are you even reading a review for something like this on this website if you don’t like this sort of thing? Nothing is going to make you happy.
Oh, and very early on there is a Costume Contest, so don’t forget to dress up as you favorite video game character (like you weren’t going to, anyway). At this particular performance, the harpist even dressed up as Zelda. Again: ZELDA HARPIST. Still nothing? Bite me.
Alright, you want a reason to hate it instead? There were a few technical issues with our performance, but that was probably the venue’s equipment, not Video Games Live’s error. Also, it appeared Square Enix makes licensing a little harder to get for their material, as the movies that accompanied songs from their games lacked game play visuals, but only theirs. And when we did a sing-a-long, the music and the singing was off only slightly, which was just a tiny timing error among dozens of remarkable timing successes. My only other beef with the show was the lighting effects occasionally shot a little too low and into the audience, which made it a tad hard to see, or the lights occasionally got too close to the screens on stage, which — in a smoke-filled room — occasionally made reading the screens difficult.
Happy now? Good. Now, if you are lucky, you will have an awesome audience and your performers will stick around for an encore or two, which this show had a strong demand for, and which they handed out gladly. I’ll probably see this show when it comes around again, even if my wife isn’t in it and the ticket isn’t free. And if this wasn’t recommendation enough for you, I’m sorry, but the recommendation you’re looking for is in another castle.
For more information and tickets visit:
— Michael has been a gamer since his first Nintendo and continues to spend entirely too much time playing video games, according to his lovely wife.
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