My Video Games Live Philly Review

[Boomaga]

Hi everyone,

I know this might seem a bit audacious as my first post here, but the Video Games Live show in Philadelphia last night compelled me to write this review this morning and join these forums. So I wrote this for my website, http://www.whiteboardmafia.com, but I figured I'd post it here first to people who probably care more...

Video Games Live Review – Approaching Nerdgasm

I’ve been listening to video game music my entire life. Video game music was the first real music for which I had an ear and a passion. Eventually as I grew into a teenager I found my own musical identity, when I became a huge metal fan, listening to the bands which are still my favorites today like Metallica and Iron Maiden. However, before I first heard Master of Puppets, I had been making my own cassette tapes of video game soundtracks for years. Castlevania, Darkstalkers, Mega Man, these were the soundtracks to my early life, and to this day I still listen to the Final Fantasy, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros soundtracks today on my iPod from time to time. So when I heard a few years back that live orchestra concerts that played video game music were being organized, I just crossed my fingers and wished that one would come to Philadelphia. I had tickets to Video Games Live in Philly back in 2005, but the show was unceremoniously cancelled and I didn’t find out until the day of the show. I was disappointed, but I knew that I would get another chance. My time finally came last night, October 11, 2009. Video Games Live hit Philadelphia and I wasn’t going to miss it for anything.

I approached the show with excitement laced with skepticism, because I had heard from a few people online that it was disappointing and overrated. I can gladly say the moment I took my seat and heard the orchestra start to play, the smile that came across my face wouldn’t wear off for the entire show. Of all the concerts I’ve seen in my time, the voice in the back of my head told me this was the one I had waited the longest part of my lifetime to see. I had gotten to see the video game-themed metal band Powerglove last year, but even their gaming-infused music paled in comparison to the experience that was Video Games Live.
The show started out with a compilation of music from older arcade games including Punch-Out, Gauntlet, and Contra among others and as it continued, the audience was treated to a musical “best-of” of some of the gaming industry’s biggest franchises. From the heavy handed themes to Metal Gear Solid, which I will admit had my eyes welling up in emotion and gamer pride, to the lighter hearted music from Sonic the Hedgehog, the show spanned the scope and history of gaming quite well. While the music was originally composed for video games, it still had the universal appeal similar to movie scores or other classical pieces regardless of the context of how the music was created. While the music may mean more to the gamer audience, it can be appreciated by anyone. The show’s host and co-creator, Tommy Tallarico even commented that one of the pieces was his mother’s favorite in the show.

The show proceeded through game themes new and old. The audience was treated to pieces newer franchises like Halo and World of Warcraft and classic games like the Legend of Zelda and Castlevania. There was something for everyone and even game scores I didn’t recognize, such as Civilization IV were so brilliantly performed and orchestrated that there was never a dull moment, even if I had never heard the music before. I was particularly enthused by some of the less currently mainstream choices, such as classic music from Metroid and Mega Man, which I yelled “YEAH!” out loud upon its introduction and was possibly my favorite part of the night. It’s easy to say that last night was the culmination of my 20 years as a video game music enthusiast.

I will say that there were a few things that bothered me personally, but that’s because of my depth of knowledge and experience with video game music. What bothered me first was a longing for more variety in the music from some of the older franchises. For example, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario both have long history of rich music and several memorable themes across that time but the orchestra just stuck pretty much to the main themes from the original 20+ year old games and it just felt a little limited like they were playing things a little too safe with those franchises. The screen was showing video footage from Super Mario Galaxy, but they weren’t playing any actual music from that game’s incredible soundtrack. I was also disappointed to see that VGL couldn’t secure rights to any SquareEnix footage to accompany some of the excellent Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy music they played. The music was still fantastic, but it took away from the experience to not have the accompanying visuals like they had for all of the other pieces in the show. These issues might not bother someone who isn’t as close to the original material, but as spoiled as I was the whole night it still left me wanting more. Of course, that just means I’ll be back to see what they play next time.

I feared with the rise of licensed music in gaming and the lack of catchy, memorable themes in most new games that the appreciation of video game music would soon die off. However, with the enthusiastic crowd and phenomenal performance from Video Games Live, I’m glad to say it’s now hotter than ever. Even if the music played isn’t exactly new, Video Games Live provides a whole new way to hear and appreciate it. If you’ve been a gamer for the last 10, 15 or 20 years I cannot give this show a stronger recommendation, and be sure to bring your non-gamer friends and family, because they’ll probably have a good time too. I can think of a few people I’m going to talk into coming with me NEXT time!
See you then, Mr. Tallarico!

[Terraguy]

Welcome to the VGL boards!

Great review, and trust me, a lot of people who downplay VGM are stunned by VGL (especially since it's truly geared for a mainstream audience).

As for the Legend of Zelda and Mario, it's been talked about before. In fact, there are (supposedly) changes coming to the two segments, which should incorporate a larger variety of music from the games. For more info, see this topic.

It's also quite unfortunate about the Square Enix video rights problem, but we're hoping that SE decides to loosen up one day. Until then, it's blank screens and cosplay away! (Personally, I'd love to see some video shots of the orchestra.)

[Boomaga]

Hey, thanks for the welcome!

Well, I realize that not having the rights to the SquareEnix footage isn't really VGL's fault, but it is a shame. I'd also hope that Nintendo and SquareEnix would allow them to place their music on a future album. There were some great selections for the vol. 1 album that I saw at the merch booth, like Halo and Castlevania, but I would've bought it if there was more I would listen to on a regular basis. I'm also glad to see that they're re-tooling the Mario and Zelda segments. I wouldn't ever want to see the show without those two segments, but I think they could expand the music variety a bit for those two franchises. Keep the classic themes and expand beyond them. I hope to see a few of those updates when I arrange to get to a show in 2010!

PS: I also like shots of the Orchestra, but maybe we can have the orchestra on the side screens and game footage on the main screen for the whole show, just a thought.

[Myrph]

Fret not regarding VGL Greatest Hits Vol. 2, from what we've heard from Tommy, we're definitely getting better and bigger names on this CD compared with the last!! Its gonna be brilliant!!

With regards to multiscreening, not all venues have multiple screens, so it wouldn't always be possible to do something like that. It being said though, for the venues where they do have that, it would be brilliant if they could have a screen or two dedicated to watching the orchestra/soloists.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the show, and I definitely look forward to you expressing more of your opinions on the forums in the future!