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| Video Games Live Rocks New Orleans! |
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April 1, 2010 marked the first time Video Games Live made an appearance in the Crescent City (New Orleans to the uninitiated) and what a splash it made! Not only were videogame fans able to hear some of their favorite videogame music live and in person, but performed by the fantastic Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Video game music icons Tommy Tallarico, composer, and Jack Wall, composer/maestro were at the helm of the performance and seemed to have a really good time - at the very least, they both got pretty tired, especially towards the end of the performance. Having seen Video Games Live a few months ago in Houston, Texas and having enjoyed it greatly, I was hoping for a similar experience much closer to home. What I got was both different and some of the same, but a really good experience nonetheless.
The show opened with a montage of classic games such as Pong, Asteroids, and Space Invaders, with all of those classic sound effects being rendered perfectly by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Then, they started moving towards many more classic games like Defender and Tempest, set to the iconic Classical music of Ride of the Valkyries. Then they moved on to the meat of the show, where they perform the music of specific game series and set it to images from those games. They began with the music of Sonic the Hedgehog, with a brief word of introduction on the huge video screen from its composer. |
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Next was the music of everyone's favorite Spartan, God of War, with an in-person appearance by composer - and birthday boy of the day - Gerard Marino. It was nice to see clips from the very recently released God of War III included in the video montage.
One change from the Houston show was the in-person appearance of the creator of the video game, Ralph Baer. He was just a face on a large screen when we last saw the show, so this was a welcomed addition. Mr. Baer spoke briefly about his creation all those years ago and then Tommy proceeded to bring out his original creation, the "Brown Box" and Mr. Baer battled it out with a young member of the audience, to the pleased howls of the audience.
Then they moved on to Advent Rising, one of Tommy Tallarico's own compositions and, although the game didn't do very well in the market, the music was rousing and fantastic. Laurie Robinson, the original singer from Advent Rising, was in place to belt out her tunes.
Then, it was on to a moving rendition of the classic melody of Baba Yetu from Sid Meier's Civilization, with composer Christopher Tin present. Jack Wall then brought out daughter Gracie and wife, Cindy Shapiro, who sang a piece from Jack's own composition from Mass Effect 2, followed by music from Myst, of which Jack composed pieces for Myst 3 and 4.
Next was an appearance and performance by the internet sensation, the Video Game Pianist, Martin Leung, who gained acclaim with his amazing piano prowess while blindfolded. Martin put on not one but two amazing performances throughout the show, one in each "Act" and he does not disappoint. Finally, Act 1 of the show was rounded out by the music of Tron, with a video introduction by its composer, Koji Kondo. |
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After a brief intermission, Act 2 began with the music of fan favorite, Kingdom Hearts, although sadly, it was set only to Disney movie images. Apparently, you never get to see Square Enix images since it was like this in Houston as well; it must be a licensing deal. However, the bubbles that came flowing down over the audience during the magical Disney montage was a nice effect, especially when combined with rapidly firing laser lights all over the building.
Then on to the music of Warcraft, with Blizzard's own Audio Director Russell Brower in the house. With him came Vangie Gunn, the original singer of "Lament of the Highborne" which is apparently the only quest in World of Warcraft where your prize is a song. As Vangie sang this haunting melody, snow lazily drifted across the audience for a very moving experience. Then onto the sounds of Starcraft, complete with game images in the background. |
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Koji Kondo returns to the screen, introducing the music from his classics from the world of Super Mario Brothers, which was great. Hearing tunes like these that we've all hummed shamelessly over the years is amazing when they are played by an orchestra and the music seems to wrap you up like a cozy and familiar blanket.
Next was the Guitar Hero competition, where the highest scoring member of a competition that took place prior to the show was given the chance to reach a score of 220,000 points on Hard to win a slew of prizes, including a $500 gift card to Gamestop. 12-year-old Ethan, with long, red "rocker" hair, was up to the challenge and after a couple of false starts due to not being able to see the bottom of the screen and some calibration issues, brought down the house on Expert and won the prize. As Ethan neared the winning score, screaming audience members were so loud, I felt like I was at an LSU home game.
Once again, Square Enix's games took center stage with the music of Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger, again with no game video. Then on to the rousing music of MegaMan, rounded out by the pulsing sounds of the Halo series, complete with Master Chief taking the stage.
Overall, seeing Video Games Live again was fantastic and I highly recommend it. Since they were filming for the DVD/Blu-ray version and also for the PBS Special, however, the focus seemed more on capturing everything on film than pleasing the live audience, so there were numerous times when the cameras blocked the view of the audience. Since this filming is finished and done with, don't let that deter you from attending. There was also a bit of confusion with seating, as the rows were marked correctly, but the seats themselves seemed to be missing certain numbers. It all seemed to work out in the end, however, and everyone found a seat. What did disappoint me, though, was the fact that the concert was originally scheduled for early February and then pushed back, plus the venue was changed from a much larger and more comfortable one at the UNO Lakefront Arena, to this smaller and more cramped venue at the Ponchartrain Center. I suppose they wanted the place jam-packed for the filming of the event, but everyone I knew had tickets for the first event, but not when they changed it to Easter weekend, when a lot of people are off visiting family. Also, the orchestra members covered up the bottom part of the screen when you were seated on the ground floor, so if I missed the names of some of the composers on screen and don't include them here, that's why. But regardless, we had a great time and I highly recommend Video Games Live for anyone who wants a hefty dose of magnificently played music paired with the themes of their favorite pastime. The show lasted over three hours, packed a tremendous punch and was well worth the cost of admission. Next time someone tells you videogames aren't culturally significant, send them to see Video Games Live! |
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-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins |
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