If you’re like me and have been within the video game and nerd music scene for any given amount of time, chances are you’ve been to a few shows featuring cover and tribute bands playing music live for a captivated audience. With Super MAGFest having just wrapped up not quite two weeks ago, and things like Rockage San Jose and VGM Con in the near future, I feel now is a great time to ruminate on all the performances I’ve been to and what stands out for me as some of the best I’ve ever been to, and hopefully exchange my experiences with other fans as well.
Two experiences pop into my mind. This past MAGFest featured Transformers and Rocky IV composer Vince DiCola joining VGM band LONELYROLLINGSTARS on stage for a live performance of some of the most iconic themes of his career. (Can be seen in the title image.) I’ll keep my synopsis brief as the whole show was beyond amazing, even beyond my bias (Full disclosure, I was artist liaison for LRS working MAG this year.) and the fact it was not technically game music, the moment when “Death of Optimus Prime” was played by DiCola and LRS and the scene displayed on the big screen, my heart felt like it was punched in it’s heart-gut. It made for a ridiculously memorable experience and one of the best shows I’ve ever been to for the music and the experience both.
The other show I can safely safe was probably the best in my lifetime of going to VGM shows was my first MAGFest, which was MAG 10 in 2012. This was the event that managed to get Final Fantasy composer legend Nobou Uematsu and his band the Earthbound Papas to come pay at the event. I have to say that it wasn’t the music that was the best part of that show, but the sheer excitement Uematsu displayed in stage while playing. When a legend in the game music industry cracks open a Sam Adams on stage, trolls the audience with a Colossus Roar, and moves onto the next song, it makes for a wild moment for fans.
So I ask the readers, what are your most memorable experiences attending game music shows, concerts and performances in your lifetime? Was it the music, the energy or just your general thrill that made it special? Let us know in the comments and let’s keep such memories alive as we keep making more in the future.
Tags: Community Question, Concerts, Events, Game Music, Live Performances, MAGFest, Shows
Bit Brigade. I can’t helped but get wrapped up in the action – completely invested in Noah’s playing as the music pulses through my brain, unlocking all of the nostalgia.
I also really love the musicianship of the Super Soul Bros.
Dear Friends concert in SF in 2005. This was one of the first of these live-VGM concerts in the US and everything was so new, special, and surprisingly casual. Uematsu-san was in attendance and greeting fans. The audience was full of current-day big-names in VGM scene who were casually attending but few people recognized, people who you would pay VIP access to hang out with now. After the concert I spoke at-length with Tommy Tallarico who was there promoting a new concert he was producing were Video Games music was performed Live. Marty O’Donnell was there standing alone in the corner after the show, no one realizing he had composed the music to the recently release small indie game Halo 2. It was an amazing and unforgettable time.
On a different end of the spectrum, in 2009 Microsoft held an all-night coding event in Silicon Valley and had brought in a few small VGM bands to entertain around midnight. Since most of the attendees were programmers deeply focused on their projects, the concert area was sparse and provided a very intimate experience for those of us in attendance. I was there to see The OneUps (who I had been following since Majestic Mix) and they put on and absolutely amazing show and hung around for hours afterwards to talk. But my biggest surprise was their opener, a relatively unknown Megaman band called The Megas. Unfortunately, they were missing one of their members who couldn’t make the trip so they had to play a paired down set. The show was interesting but nothing amazing, yet you could see their passion for the source material. I bought CDs from them afterwards to see what their full band would sound like and through those I fell in love with them. I’ve since seen them at multiple concerts and own every album (the same is true for The OneUps but I was expecting them to be awesome and they delivered). If not for that concert, I would not have been able to meet The OneUps or discover The Megas so it ranks high on my VGM experiences.