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The Video Games Live Experience
There is simply no other way I could put this other than an experience. I had tickets to the original tour in the second row in the Detroit show, and it would still be another year after that when I finally get a chance to live this experience. Picked up Dress Circle tickets to the first night of VGL and got ready for a long drive to Indianapolis. 6 hours and a few breakdowns later, I was in Indy and headed over to pick up my tickets. As luck would have it, Becky Young had sent out an email for several people to get to go in during the dress rehearsal and get a little preview. Being a musician myself, naturally this was an awesome bonus to the show. First song I heard while in there was the Mario segment, and it was an absolute delight to hear Jack explaining the song. After we saw the preview for Space Invaders, and I didn't actually catch on right away WHY Tommy was leaping across the stage while playing the game.
After a few hour break recovering some sleep from the drive, it was showtime. Many of the costumes were simply fabulous, and it was so much fun being surrounded by others that share a passion similar to mine. The building was just full of so much energy that night, and the show hadn't even begun yet! After little Zelda won the costume contest, it was finally time! (Note: I'm using SS's template for the order, since I don't remember the actual order of the songs)
Act I
8-Bit Medley - I have IGN Insider, so I've already seen this segment and knew what would be coming, so I immersed myself in the experience and also had a lot of fun listening to the audience react to various sections. There's nothing like hearing those every day themes played by an orchestra... it's simply phenomenal!
Metal Gear Solid - Again, I have seen this piece done on IGN Insider. I never played much from the Metal Gear Solid series, however, the themes aren't unfamiliar to me. Personally, what made this segment really stick out more was the use of a live person on stage and the "!" that appeared overhead as the music deepened: a small effect, but left a lasting value!
Castlevania - This one was also played during the rehearsal, and I absolutely love the music in this series! Castlevania has a distinct style of music that is immediately recognizable if I ever heard it being randomly played anywhere, and the visual cues were also fun to follow during it. This segment impacted me more in the sheer orchestration and just listening to the musical beauty of it. This segment had a strong impact on me, even if it was the third time I heard it that day!
Beyond Good and Evil - During the Friday show it received quite a cheer when it was announced: myself, I have never played the series nor am I familiar with the music. I used the time to expand my experiences and enjoy the music, and it was a great new segment for me to hear!
Legend of Zelda - I've been playing Zelda music on the piano like crazy over the last 2 years, and I may have driven myself to the point where I can't stand the music on certain days, yet despite all of that, the segment still had a fresh feel to it! The section that really hooked me was towards the end of the song, the themes were downplayed in a reflective style, and its tranquility just pulled me right in. There isn't enough respect I can show towards Kondo for writing this original theme: the Zelda series always holds a special place in my heart.
God of War - As others have said, this is a part of the show I had no familiarity in whatsoever. I had never played the game, nor have I ever listened to the music. Again, I let myself get pulled into the music and enjoy the symphonic sound.
Space Invaders - This was fun to watch during the rehearsals. The music was very simply, but the orchestra gave it a great deal of depth that really got your adrenaline going as the invaders got closer to the turret. This was a very unique experience that no other show had ever attempted, because the music was being played TO the game on the screen in real time. Unfortunately the player didn't destroy the ships and win the prize, however, it was still a lot of fun to watch and he still got some very nice speakers!
TRON - What a guilty pleasure for everyone in that room to listen to this! Unfortunately, the themes I was never as strongly familiar with, so I was lost in the visuals. I remember seeing a Tron video where the actual racers were moving around the stage, and was a bit disheartened that it couldn't be done here. It did give me a chance to focus more on the music, and it was quite wonderful.
Intermission - There was a good "lol" factor when the "Loading Act II" screen came up. A good chance to stretch the legs and wander around the lobby.
Frogger - I remember back around 5 years ago I was at a leadership convention in Austin, Texas. At one point, a group had gone to the regional AMD headquarters, and while there, I had the opportunity to play Jedi Knight 2 on a large screen like this before, and it was amazing because everyone in the room is watching you and cheering you on. This segment was like this, only much better because of the orchestra playing, again, real-time to the player on the screen. If you're familiar with Frogger, you'll know that there's a lot of fast adjustments the orchestra had to do after deaths or successful trips. Both players did good and there were a lot of "oohs" on some close calls, and in the end, a girl won a nice $2500 laptop!
Medal of Honor - I absolutely loved the angle taken here: instead of using in-game footage, real footage from World War 2 was used in its stead, and it was a very heartfelt segment where the music was second to the scenes of the war on the screen, and Giacchino's music truly complemented what anyone would feel while watching war scenes. SS put it well when he said it was one of the most moving segments of the night, because I felt a similar feeling Friday night.
EverQuest 2 - I had a funny feeling during this one, mainly from the visuals, because in my MMO experiences, I have never really had that sort of epic party feeling while playing any MMO. It was certainly a nice touch and a fun segment.
Kingdom Hearts - The second Tommy said Disney the room simply erupted... so many people love these games: they encompass so many childhood memories in an original concept, and in the end, the delivery of the music and visuals really played off of the nostalgia of classic Disney movies.
Myst - "Yes, I talk, too"... Jack's first words of the night! Admittedly I only played the first Myst game, and it was so long ago that I don't remember the music, but given what I heard and saw, I think I need to make a return to the series and give myself the chance to get that experience again!
Advent Rising - I absolutely adore the song "Greater Lights", and I remember listening to it on Tommy's myspace and thinking to myself what I would be listening to if I never had this exposure. It makes me want to take on Tommy's challenge to bring this music to more people. I had 6 years being a church musician a couple years back, and I threw in so many VG songs for instrumentals because they were so gorgeous to listen to. I very much enjoyed this segment: the music was beautiful!
Sonic the Hedgehog - Everything from here to the end of the show was the most amazing experience for me. I absolutely LOVED listening to the Sonic themes performed by the orchestra: I didn't even watch the visuals on the screen here, simply immersed myself in what I was listening to. I look forward to the CD coming out just to relive this experience alone!
World of Warcraft - I'm an addict... so was half the audience when the song was announced. Seasons of War is such a great intro song for World of Warcraft and it gave me chills listening to the music while watching some of the most memorable scenes from the Warcraft series (in particular, Arthas' return to murder his father).
Martin Leung performs FF Music - I've played piano for nearly 16 years now, and even with the experience that I have, I was still completely blown away by this arrangement. The beginning was simple with more reflective themes from the series, but as it progressed in length, it also did in intensity and difficulty. Leung is an extremely accomplished musician and his performance was absolutely breathtaking to listen and watch (those hands!).
Mario - This was a nice melody, but in my opinion, was one of the lower points of the Act, but that may very well be my fault again because I surround myself in the music. It was still a very pleasant piece to listen to, and it was a nice end of the show.
Encore - Michael Salvatori was there for the show, and we were treated to a great Halo medley that I enjoyed immensely. I never played as much Xbox as I did other systems, and as such, never played much Halo, but I still listened to a bunch of the music anyhow. After the Halo segment, Martin came back out to do his familiar bit that so many on the Internet have seen, and it was a nice closing to the show
Afterwards I went out for the meet and greet. It was nice to meet many leaders in the industry, but I was really looking forward to meeting Tommy and Jack. Seriously: you guys have created an amazing show and experience here... I have never been to a show that impacted me so much as this one. I'll get moving on that Rhapsody in Blue arrangement and send it in to ya, and hopefully someday I'll be able to participate in the Video Games Live experience more actively. Thank you for a great evening!
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Lookin forward to the 2007 season!
Diversion