By snoadmin
One would think that an orchestra performance with video game music is a little too off-the-wall.
However, the Video Games Live concert at the Greek Theatre was an epic showcase of the music that all video game geeks adore.
For anyone who hasn’t heard, Video Games Live is a special concert featuring video game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall. Tallarico acts as the host throughout the concert, while Wall conducts an entire orchestra of violins, horns, keyboards and percussionists to play video game music.
The Video Games Live concert on June 4 was as much a visual experience as it was a musical tour-de-force. A huge projection screen in the back showed off actual footage taken from the video games, which the orchestra performed music from.
It was a stellar, almost psychedelic extravaganza for video game geeks. The spotlight performances of the night included debuts of exclusive music from some of the newest games at the E3 convention in Los Angeles, such as “Diablo 3.” The orchestra blasts of music to thundering timpani drums was astounding, but more impressive were the drawings from “Diablo 3,” never before released to the public.
Tallarico also handled the show festivities with the energy of Buffalo Bill. He ecstatically announced the Video Games Live debut of the most requested orchestral arrangements video gamers voted for on the Video Games Live website: music from “Mega Man,” “Metroid,” “Chrono Trigger” and “Chrono Cross.”
The “Mega Man” arrangement was sub-par at best. Wall and Tallarico really should have added in more boss music from the games. Tallarico even played the electric guitar, but he played the main “Mega Man 2” theme at too low an octave to truly wow the audience.
However, the “Metroid” composition was a surreal mix of spacey synthesizer sound effects and majestic orchestral crescendos. The visual display was an even more stunning music video of footage from all the “Metroid” games, from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the newest “Metroid” game on the Wii, “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.”
The “Chrono Trigger” and “Chrono Cross” arrangement was the true show-stopper of the night. The “Chrono Trigger” music, with loud orchestral staccato bursts of sound, was thrilling. But the “Chrono Cross” arrangement evoked the loudest applause from the audience. Wall and Tallarico’s performance of Spanish guitar made for a truly lush arrangement like no other. It embodied a sweeping splendor of sounds, with a slow pan flute melody evoking a yearning nostalgia for the past, followed by progressing guitar strums adding swift momentum to the very end.
Video Games Live was also an entertaining opportunity for audience guests to play video games live on stage with orchestral music in the background. The guests played games such as “Space Invaders” and “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” on the projection screen for special video game prizes sponsored by IGN, such as arcade machines, one-year subscriptions to Gamefly.com and even a Playstation 3. The most entertaining contest was the video game performance of Mark Hendrix, who played an excellent, flawless rendition of the Aerosmith song “Sweet Emotion” with a “Guitar Hero” controller.
Certainly, Video Games Live was one of the geekiest concerts to ever grace the Greek Theatre. Unlike other rock concerts, the performance was probably the most entertaining and family-friendly night with the music from the games, which video gamers love and adore.
