Gearbox VGL Trip!

On July 14th, Randy, Pat Krefting, and I made the drive from Dallas to Houston to attend the Video Games Live concert event. We'd found out about the event several weeks earlier from Tommy Tallarico, who helped to create and organize the event. I hadn't previously known anything about the show, and as I did some research on their site and read reviews, I got pretty excited - the reviews were great and the show seemed really unique. I bought our tickets and made plans to head down to Houston.

The entryway to the music hall in Houston

We arrived in Houston in good time (despite a side-trip to a video games store on the way... we can't help it!), and were directed to our seats right before the show began - and after checking out the Guitar Hero II demo they had set up! The lights dimmed, and the 130+ piece orchestra and choir came on the stage.

A Guitar Hero II contest takes place outside the hall - I can't wait for this game!

It didn't take long for the show to prove itself worthy of its many sold-out dates and great reviews. They got things started with a video game character costume contest (a really great Link won!), and jumped into the music. It started with a montage of classic games from Pong to Ghosts and Goblins to DigDug and more - all played by the orchestra with gameplay displayed on the large screen. After this medley, they launched into some longer game-specific pieces - Sonic, Mario, and Zelda all appeared, of course, with footage of games past and present. There were also several excellent games represented that I didn't expect, like Myst, Beyond Good and Evil, Kingdom Hearts, and many more. I was particularly fond of the Myst and Metal Gear Solid pieces.

During the intermission, we all waited as part II was loading

the VGL didn't stop with just music, though; they even had contests on-stage. A boy from the audience was chosen to play Space Invaders on the large screen by physically moving and pressing the fire button. Another contest involved a Frogger high score battle, the prize being a high-end laptop.

Here's a dark photo of Randy and Pat - stupid camera!

During one segment of the concert, an incredibly talented female pianist played a Final Fantasy medley solo - it was incredible to watch! I really enjoyed seeing the progression of video game music from the beeps of Pong to the orchestral scores of games like Metal Gear Solid, World of Warcraft, or Halo (which they closed with, to the joy of the crowd). It's interesting how video games have become such an intersection of so many forms of expression, and this concert really emphasized that to me.

The show was completely sold out - tons of gamers and music fans everywhere!

Afterward, Randy was part of a signing that included many industry professionals - from Tommy Tallarico to Jason Hayes (World of Warcraft), and many others who had music in the show or had come to see it. More than 300 fans lined up to get signatures, and the signing didn't stop until all of them were satisfied. The audience was full of really interesting folk - it was awesome to see grandparents with grandchildren and hardcore gamers alike all enjoying the music.

Here you see Randy and several other industry professional signing fans' booklets and more - over 300 people were in line!

Hearing all that music that's become part of my life over the years played by a full symphony orchestra was a really unique and fun experience, and it was really worth the drive to Houston - though I'd absolutely love to see it here in Dallas, what with the large game development community we have. And of course, I'd love to see some Brothers in Arms music in the setlist, and music by other Dallas developers! Maybe in the future we'll get a chance to see that - in the meantime, if you love video games or going to the orchestra (or both), I really recommend checking this event out if you get the chance!

^{There were far more people there than I expected - the concert hall was totally full (and blurry as well)}

As a bonus for reading the blog, here's a photo of me next to a bale of hay and a KFC! (yes, it really is like this in Texas)

Here I am outside of KFC with a bale of hay - welcome to Texas, y'all.