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I didn't know what to expect when my husband and I decided to take our 14 year old son and his friend to the show. I definitely didn't think I would be as engaged as I was. It was great to see the boys enjoying the music as much as they did. What a wonderful way to expose children to orchestral music. It was worth every penny. Well done!
I bought these tickets for me and my boyfriend as a Christmas gift, and even though it was for him, I had an amazing time as well! It combines symphonic style music with video games and creates a really amazing experience. We look forward to going again in the future, possibly in costume.
I did not expect to hear some amazing songs. I must say Donkey Kong was my overall favorite with that custom symphonic flute.
Some of the music was very good. Tony Talerico spent a lot of time talking and it detracted from the show. The musicians and chorus for the most part were not even introduced. Lost interest in the latter part of the show.
This was my second time at a Video Games Live! concert and I have to say, my expectations were exceeded once again! Seeing Tommy on stage talk about his mission so passionately is such a delight, matched only by his play on the guitar for multiple pieces. The orchestra, despite being a collection of young musicians versus an official philharmonic, were more than up to the task. They were enthusiastic, clear, and played big: perfect for the music they were playing. Also, a big shout-out to the Triforce Quartet, who played with the orchestra and got to play some fantastic pieces on their own. The far and away star of the event was Laura Intravia, who was simply phenomenal on flute/synthesizer flute AND vocals. Not to mention her arrangement of the Legend of Zelda was superb. The one (small) criticism I had was that a third of the way through the performance, the audio level seemed out of wack and it was difficult to hear the choir over the orchestra, which was a shame because of how fantastic they were! As unfortunate as this was, this in no way hampered my overall enjoyment of the event. To summarize, Video Games Live! outdoes itself every year, and I am eagerly awaiting the next time they swing by!
This is a review along with some improvement ideas to make this more than a one and done show. Very excited and supportive of the concept. Disappointed at the execution. Bought 3 VIP tickets for 120+ for me (80's/90's gamer) and my 2 sons (8 and 10). VIP experience - waste of money and no differentiation to standard prices (kids did not care about a tattoo, sticker, but liked the VIP card). The preshow Q&A was boring and mildly informative - we skipped the post show. The gaming stations were for everyone and loosely managed so playing time was a chore. Everyone was allowed in at 6:30 so no preaccess value. Solution suggestions: separate gaming section for VIPs instead of forcing everyone to wait on long lines for the 5 or so stations set up (and some set up as single player - c'mon). Give coupons for a free drink or snack at the bar. Show - loved the audience costume party but wasn't announced so many missed it - fix that as audience participation is often your biggest draw. Lots of talking by the host - too much and dragged everything out - ease up on the thanking everyone, traveling stories, and how people said it couldn't be done. We got it early but heard it often and it came across as stalling at times. Content: infrequently brilliant, but too often obscure. A tribute to Ace Attorney? Check the tape as 3 people in the audience reacted Lose it an whatever items you could see that did not resonate for the region. Keep your indie tributes but add more popular items like Pokemon I swear you had 20 people in your audience dressed as Pikachu, you reference it in your opening video, and nothing was delivered. My 8 year old (yes there is a new generation to join the older) was very disappointed. Laura Intravia - a goddess - brilliant - the show's highlight by far - so talented - nailed Zelda Game mashups - frogger/GTA, Sonic/PacMan, and others were a hit - boys loved them and we all laughed. Add more. Tetris - great end to first act - amazing Trifource quartet - good but could not deliver the Mario tribute which is a pillar of your show imho - it deserved so much more and how a piano wasn't involved is a huge miss - a nice to have, talented, but they were oversold. Music with just the title in the background is mostly a disconnect for everyone except the people that know the game - you will never get a 100% hit on a title so make sure something in playing in the background or risk losing the audience.
My husband and I took our 13-year-old son. Not being a gamer, I liked the show more than I thought I would. My 13-year-old liked it a lot. I was afraid we would be bored after the first hour-- but far from it! There was enough interaction between Tallaricco and the audience to keep things interesting. He keeps things very casual-- definitely improvised and unrehearsed. This is probably a good thing considering he's going for a young audience, but I have to admit that sometimes I was thinking-- is this the best they could do for $60 a ticket? We saw it at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. To nitpic, the orchestra was a bit small for the venue. About 35 instrumentalists were on stage. It was not enough to rock the place, which was okay with me-- but I'm someone's mom. The spotlights on stage were very annoying. They didn't add anything to the show. Often they were shining directly in our eyes-- we were on the second tier-- and made it very difficult to look at the screen. The screen could have been a bit bigger too. Next time they come to town, they should consider a smaller, more intimate venue-- I think it would work better. One set for Zelda, a little Mario, no Pokemon :(. My son explained that he thought they were aiming for an older crowd. Probably a good thing to keep the show fresh. Numbers I remember were from Skyrim, World of Warcraft, Sid Meier's Civilization and Street Brawler, but I have never played any of those games.
Show was very entertaining and the host was charming and funny. Great music! Very talented members. The first two rows in the seating sections (not the floor) were EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE. They are not regular seats. They are bleacher seats. I recommend you buy seats at the fourth row up at least.
The show was great! I loved the concept. They need a much larger screen!
Great deal, great music. The show itself got a bit monotonous in the end. Overall, it was a good and would recommend it.
The energy was great, and the fans were excited. The best portion was when everyone sang the tune of Super Mario Bros. The music was nice, the video was nice, but I think your local venue, and your local choir and orchestra will have a large effect on the show. The music felt so small, I remarked to my wife from the second he started playing the guitar that someone should tell him it wasn't plugged in. It took me a while to realize it was plugged in, just a whisper. I was in the front row, I could hear the strings, I could hear the pick, but there was no sound. The orchestra sounded similarly, off, or not there at all. The choir connected well during the FFVII song which was awesome. It felt like we were listening to a CD play the music, and then the instruments try and match up to that music. It just felt off. At one point during Skyrim it was painfully obvious their audio was way off. You could hear the music playing and then they added a vocal roar from the game. That roar was 10x the volume of everything else and was very much out of place. In the second half both projectors became out of focus and were never fixed. So I don't know if this is Video Games Live, or Cedar Park Center, or a bit of both. I guess that was the big letdown for me, I couldn't feel the music, and I wouldn't have had the same experience watching the production on YouTube at home, maybe better because I could have turned the volume up.
Have always heard about Video Games Live and was extremely happy to know they were coming to the Austin area. Girlfriend bought tickets after my hesitation and I can totally say it was worth it. The music was nastolgic and fun and I finally got to see one of my favorite game musicians Tommy Tallarico. Crowd was fun and overall it was amazing.
VGL at the Cedar Park Center was an unforgettable night! I was able to go with friends and family and we all enjoyed it. The number of people was lover than expected though. I'm sure if VGL came to Austin at the Long Center like they did in the past the turn out would of been bigger. Other than that I enjoyed it a lot! The Austin Orchestra truly delivered and it felt like I was playing the game while they were playing the music.
Video Game Live was fun but not a life changing event. It was plagued with long 'dead spots' where no music was being played and only played a few sets from classic/retro games, which I was under the impression it would be mostly.
I've been to Video Games Live before, and it is a high-energy, fun show with live orchestra and choir and soloists and flute. I love the way footage from games is shown on the big screen with closeups of the soloist. This time, though, the amplification was turned up so loud, and the venue had such hard flat side walls, that all the sound mushed together, and it was really hard to hear either the orchestra or the singers. Not much better than listening to a bad radio, and hardly the "orchestra experience" Tommy talked about. But, even so you could tell that the choir was fantastic, and so was the conductor, who had some fun conducting the audience. And the music was inspiring. The show was long and packed with great tracks.
This event was very entertaining and enjoyable. I was impressed with the inclusion of our local symphony and choir. My eyes were opened to the complexity of the music that accompany video games.
This event is always a great time. Full of fun, laughter, and beauty. Appeals to the gamer and non gamer alike.
Such an amazing experience!!! From the time you walked into the door until you left you were being entertained! The orchestra and light show themselves were breath taking. Got chills at how amazing it was.
An excellent performance of video game music from old classics to modern epics and everything in between. The music was top notch and the whole experience had this wonderful balance between classical orchestra concert and a rock concert. The whole thing was a joy full of humor, nostalgia and beautiful music performed by people who love what they do. Also I liked the small theater because it meant every seat was good and there was way less competition for the facilities.
I went with my husband and 10 year old daughter...we had a blast! It was fun for the whole family!
