For over ten years, Tommy Tallarico has been traveling all over the world to bring gamers
Video Games Live, a combination of video game music performed by a symphonic orchestra and video game footage. A concept that many in the industry claimed was doomed to fail. But still Tommy keeps performing his show, adding more music to an already impressive backlog, visiting new venues every year and inspiring gamers and non-gamers alike. This year, we were glad to see that Belgium was finally added to the European tour roster, so this was an opportunity we couldn't miss.
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| Really, who could ignore this cute little face |
The show was held in a smaller venue than originally advertised, but we quickly noticed that this only worked to the show's advantage. Right from the start, you got the feeling that this was not going to be a regular symphonic concert. The mood was quickly set when Tommy himself energetically jumped on stage with his electric guitar to announce Castlevania Rock as the opening song. You could notice that the public was at first apprehensive about the a-typical way (for us Belgians anyway) in which Tommy and conductor Emmanuel Fratianni presented their show, encouraging the audience to make noise during their performances when a good part of game/music is played and to take/share pictures and movies of their show online. But even our timid gamers forgot their inhibitions after a couple of classics and by the end, the audience was singing parts of music themselves and cheering like crazy.
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| Yes, cheer for me minions! |
Since there are a lot of games and therefore music to choose from, I expected to hear all the 'classic' songs in this first Belgian show so as not to alienate the audience too much. The audience however was able to choose several pieces themselves on the show's Facebook page on beforehand, which made some unexpected pieces find their way to the playlist, which I enjoyed very much. As well as showing video game footage (for the most part) during the songs, the screens also showed short game-themed YouTube clips, often gags, which further loosened the crowd and ensured the familiar feeling that surrounded the whole event.
Familiar is really the best way to describe this show. Since the comfy seats didn't allow for much room in between and the music was very recognisable, the audience quickly fraternised with eachother. I also noticed that the public wasn't made up of all guys wearing gamer shirts, but among the people in the crowd were a lot of kids, girls and boys alike and also older couples, which I definitely wouldn't have expected. This shows that Tommy was right on the money when he said there would definitely be an audience for this kind of show.
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| Featured, ppl from ages 7-77, maybe |
Actually, when you think of it, the idea isn't so ridiculous at all. A lot of games, especially nowadays, have incredible and comprehensive scores, sometimes on par or even better than movie scores. Even the bleeps and bloops of the old games frequently get a haul over by fans on Youtube or by the original composers themselves. And hearing these pieces of music performed by a live orchestra is just simply amazing, especially when accompanied by pieces of footage from those games. You really have to fight the urge to run to a nearby console and start gaming on the spot. It even gave me the idea to play some games I hadn't considered before, that's the power of a good performance.
Verdict
All in all we can look back on a great show, performed by some truely gifted and inspiring people. This was only the first show in their European tour, so if you are able to catch a show near you, do not hesitate for a second, it is definitely worth the money. If you are unable to go see the show, but still are interested in the music, you can always support the new
Kickstarter of Video Games Live to fund the professional recording of their fourth album. Also definitely worth it as for every dollar pledged, you receive four times the value. Keep going Tommy, you're doing a great job!
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