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Video Games Live is one of those things that sounds like a cool idea until you get there. Upon experiencing it however, you realize that far from being merely cool, the show is actually one of the most enjoyable, stirring, moving and utterly blissful experiences available to the hardcore gamer. 
 
I'd wanted to attend a show for a very long time, and spurred on by Colette's write up from earlier in the year my excitement had been exploding messily all over the place in the week running up to Monday's performance at London's Royal Festival Hall. And make no mistake, the Bennettoid's torrent of superlatives was entirely founded, as along with Jim, Atheistium, Wardrox and DanGale, I found myself partaking in not only one of the most enjoyable nights of cultural entertainment I've attended in years, but also one packed with a tangible sense of the celebration of a community, and which crystalized everything that gaming means to so many of us. 
 
Hit the jump for a report on why, along with more shakycam video extracts I recorded, taking in Sonic and a flatteningly beautiful Chrono Cross performance from the now deservedly legendary Martin Leung. Also included is a rambly pile of nonsense recounting our pre-show activities, with the added bonus of some of the brilliant entrants to the cosplay competition which we had the honor of being invited to judge. 
The performances and interpretations of the scores making up the bill were flawless. That goes without saying, and a quick look at any of the videos included in this story are all the evidence needed that that was the case. To hear modern symphonic scores such as Halo's performed live by orchestra and choir was a tingle-inducing experience in itself, but what I found even more moving were the rearrangements of 8 and 16 bit soundtracks for the orchestral experience.
 
Hearing all of those classic aural signifiers of the great times of our gaming heritage, each in itself already so ingrained into our cultural lexicology, reworked on such a grand and respectful scale really does add to them a new, epic, and timeless nature utterly befitting of their relevence to our lives as gamers. It makes them sound exactly as they've always felt to those of us who grew up with the games they come from, and it's a fitting, utterly deserved, and long-overdue tribute to the great things that videogames give us. 
That tributary note typifies the entire Video Games Live experience in fact. It's true that we as gamers are bonded through our shared experiences and mythologies, and that that brings with it an incredibly warm sense of cameraderie and community which I've had the pleasure of experiencing at a great many events. Video Games Live however, brought that sense of celebration and shared culture to me on a whole new level.
 
By bringing together hundreds of gamers of every generation along with their friends and families to revel in the cultural touchstones that we all share, all presented on a truly beautiful scale, the show filled the auditorium, and in fact the entire theatre, with a genuine family party atmophere, simultaneously entertaining us and cementing videogames' place as a major modern medium and cultural movement. You need to go to this show. It's as simple as that. 

LAUNCH GALLERY (14 IMAGES)
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29 comments | showing # 1 to 29

king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 10/25/2007 16:28
DARN the closest one is a day's drive away from me. I want to go to this soooo bad. Is there a recording of one somewhere to get my hands on?
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 10/25/2007 16:30
Oh did I mention that the closest one was in Seattle. In January. OF 2009!!!
HawtPawkitHero's Avatar
HawtPawkitHero at 10/25/2007 16:30
It's awesome, but they shouldn't have had the video playing in the background. It distracts one from the music.
EvilSmeevil's Avatar
EvilSmeevil at 10/25/2007 16:30
Wahey Dave I was there too! I thought there might be some other dtoiders around but gave up looking after a while. How awesome was that tentacle suit?
David Houghton 's Avatar
David Houghton at 10/25/2007 16:32
The tentacle guy was an absolute legend. It was a deserved win of the cosplay competition (Though I was actually gunning for the Midna girl).
TioBOB's Avatar
TioBOB at 10/25/2007 16:33
I went to VGL show in Rio. It was magnificent. The crowd was completely going wild. And the host danced the Dança do Siri without really knowing what he was doing. It was hilarious.

Dança do Siri on Second Life: http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLZF2hZ7uM
Fleet3000's Avatar
Fleet3000 at 10/25/2007 16:36
the audio sync on the Chrono Cross piece was really bad. but otherwise, there's no way in hell that I'm going to miss this show when it goes to Milwaukee. only about an hour or two drive from chicago, highly worth it.
EvilSmeevil's Avatar
EvilSmeevil at 10/25/2007 16:37
I was so embarrassed when they made the Harry Potter debut though. I'm not disputing the games suck but the music was good. All that jeering, and then when the composer came out, I felt so bad for him.
Jordan Grim Devore's Avatar
Jordan Grim Devore at 10/25/2007 16:41
The poor tentacle dude couldn't drink his beer.
David Houghton 's Avatar
David Houghton at 10/25/2007 16:45
Yeah, the audio sync on the Martin Leung piece is a tad imperfect I'm afraid. That's the peril of only having one camera to shoot these things. Hopefully I got the essence of what he was doing across though, because it was absolutely phenomenal. The Final Fantasy VI segment of his later FF medley nearly had me crying like a small girl.
DanGale's Avatar
DanGale at 10/25/2007 16:49
David, I too was almost in tears. It was genuinely the most heart rendering piece I've heard for a long time. And Martin Leung was just sooo cute. I just wanted to put him in my pocket and keep him as my personal piano monkey. As much I distained the announcement of Chrono Cross and not Trigger, I thoroughly enjoyed that too.

I still reckon Midna should have rode Link onstage though.
Bluefusion's Avatar
Bluefusion at 10/25/2007 16:55
I'm partial to the purple tentacle cosplayer
Jim Sterling's Avatar
Jim Sterling at 10/25/2007 16:59
Simply put, one of the most special evenings ever, especially as a gamer. I think anyone who is reading this who hasn't been sincerely needs to find a way to go to one, then to two, then to three. Such an awesome concert and a beautiful tribute to the music of gaming.

I disagree with HawtPawkitHero though. I feel the screen is half the show. The visuals help the music so much. I got a bit misty eyed when they played Kingdom Hearts, but had there been actual footage from the game (Square-Enix blow, btw), I might have full-on wept like a baby.
Justin Villasenor's Avatar
Justin Villasenor at 10/25/2007 17:04
Here's hoping the show I'm going to on Sunday will be just as great.

"It's okay, it's wolf Link. He's not a furry."

lolz!
Dale North's Avatar
Dale North at 10/25/2007 17:05
VGL? yes. Martin Lueneneng? Not so much.
relik's Avatar
relik at 10/25/2007 18:36
I went to this with a few mates who I work with at SCEE. Had and absolute swell time. The Richard Jaques perfomance of Out Run's Passing Breeze was one of the many highlights for me... and the Sonic medley... and the MGS score and the... well you catch the drift lol

Well worth the trip down from Liverpool.

Also, the Day of the Tentacle guy was a beast. When he kept spacking out on stage had me in fits.

Would've been cool to hook up with some fellow D-toiders. Next year for sure. :)
SpencersGifts's Avatar
SpencersGifts at 10/25/2007 18:56
I went to the one in LA last week. I wasn't that impressed. I paid over 100 bucks for my girlfriend and I to go. And it wasn't even that cool.

Don't get me wrong, Ive loved video games since I can remember, and hell Ive been playing music since I was 8. I don't know, maybe just because Ive been to more legit shows as far as orchestras go, I think all the filler and BS that got added to it sorta made it lame. I want to slap whoever chose the music to be played. Id say about 50% was really good, other then that, most of the people in the audience were like "who cares" One of the biggest let downs, and you could tell by the crowd, was Crono Cross. No one likes crono cross, its the poor mans crono trigger for god sake. All the people around me were like "why didn't they play crono cross"

Owell i guess now a days video games have gotten so "nerdy its cool" that you gotta make all the teenies happy, and not the older guys that made them the money in the first place...
crizz's Avatar
crizz at 10/25/2007 20:10
I had to the good fortune to see both VGL (Chicago) and Dear Friends (Detroit) and I really love the idea of having more of these kinds of events. I had more fun at Dear Friends, but that was because I am such a Square-FF geek. Maybe one day there will be Classical Video Game Music sections at Best Buy...yay.
gitrooman's Avatar
gitrooman at 10/25/2007 20:22
VGL has been to CA 5 times and NY once. And not even NY city...buffolo the middle of fucking no where. Show us new yorkers some love you fucking douchbags. Are they really gonna make us fucking wait till spring 2009? Go fuck yourselves.
Volomon's Avatar
Volomon at 10/25/2007 20:42
I'd like to check it out but there none around me. Sucks.
Aktrez's Avatar
Aktrez at 10/25/2007 21:57
Gitrooman, let's start with you. NY is an extremely expensive city to play and we have yet to find a venue that will work for us. You have to remember that there is a LOT more to putting on a concert than just saying "Oooh, let's play there!" Believe me, I lived in NYC for 6 years. There is nothing we would love more than to play in NY. LA is easier for us as we have contacts here as well as the fact this is our home base.

SpencerGifts, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the show. I must disagree with your comment on the fact that "no one" liked Chrono Cross as I was the one on the recieving end of hundreds of e-mails asking us to add that specific peice. The reason it's even in the show is due to the overwhelming requests for it. So, you and the people around you may not have been fans, but hundreds of other kids are creaming their pants right now knowing that it's in the show.

You also have to remember that VGL is not ONLY geared toward the hardcore gamer but to the mainstream crowd as well. Our goals are two fold - get gamers to a symphony and celebrate our culture and also give the non gamer a look at the artistry that is our hobby. With that in mind, of COURSE we are going to choose songs with both of those demographics in mind.

To the gang in London: Thank you for being so awesome! You were all a pleasure to work with and I want to thank you for your help. I'm so glad you enjoyed the show.

See you guys soon!
DrShotgunMD's Avatar
DrShotgunMD at 10/25/2007 22:55
"NY is an extremely expensive city to play and we have yet to find a venue that will work for us."

@Aktrez
How about Radio City Music Hall, or Carnegie Hall, or Lincon Center, or The Nokia Theater, or even Madison Square Garden (Here's hopin)......I could go on and on......and those are just in Manhattan alone.

You've got to be kidding me. Your not really going to play in every city in the entire world and compleatly shrug off New York City are you?


Come the fuck on here already.
atheistium's Avatar
atheistium at 10/26/2007 04:10
I liked the Chrono Cross.

Oh btw, this night was total MEMORIES. Specially the metal gear part.

Next time I think they need some TOMB RAIDER TO MAKE ME ULTIMATE HAPPY!
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 10/26/2007 08:56
This looked like an awesome event. Even the vids gave off a happy vibe! Amazing stuff.
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 10/26/2007 10:18
I'm the gay one with yellow hair.

Such a good night. I especially liked it when everybody held up their DS' instead of flames, I can't wait to see it again.
Spectral's Avatar
Spectral at 10/27/2007 13:24
Argh. Better than the one we had in DC. I mean it was alright, but people are so self concious around here.

/hates Maryland
Fading Star's Avatar
Fading Star at 10/28/2007 00:15
I wish I could have been there...:(.

Great videos.
Aktrez's Avatar
Aktrez at 11/13/2007 14:34
DrShotgunMD ,

It's not about shrugging off NYC. It's about finding a venue that we can afford. You have NO idea how expensive it is to play that city. That being said, we're working on the Beacon Theater for 2008 right now. We're pretty sure about it right now.
Aktrez's Avatar
Aktrez at 11/30/2007 14:43
Hey David,

Where is that picture of Atheism giving me tongue?
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