jewelisms

Video Games Live

jewel July 11th, 2009

Last night, we went to see Video Games Live at Wolf Trap. It was a really cool show! It featured the National Symphony Orchestra who gave a flawless performance.

We got tickets on the lawn so that we could bring our cooler and snacks and beer. Took some camping chairs so we wouldn’t have to sit on the ground. We got there about 90 minutes prior to the show and we had our picnic and a beer and then sat back to enjoy the show. And good stuff it was.

For those that don’t what type of show this was, they basically showed clips and segments from video games from the last 4 decades on big screens and the orchestra played the themes or sound effects right along with the clip. There were a couple vocal performances and several other side item performances, like Martin Leung who became popular on YouTube for playing video game themes on the piano while blindfolded.

The thing I really found cool and interesting was how they combined a few genre’s of music. They had someone playing an electric guitar right along with the orchestra and at one point that guitarist was jamming with the standing bass player – nice touch. There was also a choir, an opera singer and another vocalist.

There was also a Guitar Hero challenge for one person in the audience (who had won a skillz contest ahead of time) to complete Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” on hard with at least 200,000 points. If he managed it, he won a $2500 Dell Laptop. Not only did he win it, he did it on expert and only missed one note. He had a streak of 609 notes, which looked pretty amazing to me. Of course, the orchestra played along as well.

This was a show that celebrated the artistry and culture of video games.

The only thing we honestly didn’t enjoy had nothing at all to do with the show. There was a small group of college age kids sitting next to us on our left that talked the whole time as if they were in their livingroom. Everyone talked a little bit, which was part of the enjoyment; but these folks simply did not shut up. The louder the music got, the louder they got. Also, one of them had a camera and kept taking flash pictures. It was an outdoor show at night. That built in flash has a range of about 15 feet. The only thing it accomplished was to blind everyone near her. I did finally ask her to stop, which she did. Sadly one of her companions took up the picture taking after she stopped.

Thankfully the group of 12 year old’s in front of us and the group of college age kids on the other side of us were really enjoying the show and were not making asses of themselves. The group to our left really was in the minority in that regard.

If you enjoy video games you should really check out Video Games Live if they come to an area near you. It was a lot of fun.

Here’s a YouTube clip to give you an idea of what it is like: