What these do is cover the music from various episodes of legacy versions of the show's title's video game (the one I just did was "Sonic Symphony") from when the game was first created (typically decades ago) to the current version. These shows are always nearly completely sold out, and with just about the only advertising necessary being word of mouth amongst the local gaming community (and sure, the show has a website and schedule, but - basically - the gamers all tell each other about them, and anticipate them for months and months). To gamers, gaming is (at least it seems to me) their version of religion, whereas their daily life is (at least, I would tend to suspect - as with the Society for Creative Anachronism aka SCA) considered by them to be synthetic, and gaming - to them - is likely considered by them to be their reality.
As a contracted musician, you'll show up in the afternoon, the rehearsal will be three hours and will feature one run-through of each tune (this show: a couple dozen). There will be a 30 minute break (rather than typically the 15 or 20 required) whereby they will ask the musicians to use the extra minutes allotted to review any "licks" which individual musicians executed incorrectly on the read-thoughs.
After reading though each chart (which typical cover one, two, or three legacy - or current version - game on-screen episodes), there's a dinner break and the show. Last night's was 2-1/2 hours, with screaming/hollering/cheering - and hundreds of constantly-waved colored lights - throughout (as if a rock concert).
In fact, AFTER intermission we were fronted by a 4-piece rock band (drummer, guitar, bass, girl singer), which was needed to cover the more recent versions of the "Sonic" video game.
You play a bunch of VERY loud donuts, VERY loud rhythmic licks, a lot of low stuff, and it's pretty relentless (I actually had ONE tacet tune)...Did I mention that it's LOUD ?
The last fifteen minutes featured an (again) quasi-religious "unplugged" closing, whereby the rock band and the conductor gathered in the middle of the stage - with one mic and only a 12-string guitar) sang a few of the "songs" from some of the versions/episodes of the game, and the audience sang along.
We played in a 2500 seat (very nice) hall called the "Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Nashville). I'm sure the tickets were not cheap, and I'm sure they filled at least 2000 of the seats.
I've done "Zelda" (and other) video game orchestra concerts before...They're all just about sold out (full house).
The individual parts look like a bunch of nothing, but (actually) some of the stuff is "nearly music" and (via uber familiarity) the crowd goes ABSOLUTELY wild when each number starts (with - of course - the correct corresponding version and episode of the game on the giant screen).
lights:
They seemed to coordinate the colors of their lights, based on the game version and episode...As an example, one had a "star" theme, and they all turned on their (no color) white lights, etc.
Most of these pictures were taken by their own publicity photographer last night (which I gleaned from social media), and were during the last fifteen minutes unplugged "religious service" closing portion of the concert.
I managed to take one through the plexiglass sound shield.
Oh yeah...Every player had the click - with verbal cues or rehearsal number chimes - and an earbud.
Rather than paying a zillion bucks to park in a garage in downtown Nashville (and then walk three blocks with a tuba), a trombone buddy of mine (playing the show) lives there, his wife is a hospital administrator, and we were able to have her shuttle us to the stage door, and we texted her when it was drawing to a close and she picked us up again at the same place.
yeah...I'd seen these images before, but I knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the game nor the name of the character.
, but) ' incompetent'."
