Authored by peccaui & unitdaisy

Ladies & gentlemen - The Power-Ups. (enlarge)

Those of us that grew up with video games remember every jump, every pixel and every cheat code by heart - hell, it's the way we were conditioned. Die, continue, start again. It's only fitting that the music would be only bit of the wreckage that would remain after the novelty of graphics and gameplay wear off. On a muggy night in Chicago at the Empty Bottle, The Power-Ups Project (or simply, The Power-Ups) treated us to a slice of heaven that none of us would have dreamed when we were six - sitting around, enjoying mixed up interpretations of the same midi hell that looped over and over while we futively tried to beat 'the next level'. And unlike the gaming experiences of old, it wasn't just one to four people enjoying the atmosphere at once.

The Power-Ups seemed to be throughly enjoying themselves on stage playing through 8-bit tunes ripped straight from our NES carts but the 100+ audience members were filled with the same childlike delight. It is rare to attend a concert these days where the majority of the crowd watches not just in rapt attention but with wide grins splitting their faces. This music is attached not just to symbols and images, but memories and elicits the same visceral gaming experience - all of the triumphs, frustrations and small joys. Do you cheer ever time you turn on Zelda and hear the theme? Maybe not - but moved from the living room to the unexpected venue it was exciting to hear that familiar melody and the crowd responding enthusiastically.

The Itinerary. (enlarge)

Most game soundtrack tribute artists hide out at remix.overclocked.org or other remix websites, crouching behind their soft-synths, software samplers and whatever devices they can use to wonderfully reconstruct these tunes we've heard for endless hours. The Power-Ups are composed of a female bassist, lead guitarist, synth man and drummer - typical for a normal rock group but completely abnormal for a video game tribute band, and if only we could hear more remixers in this kind of an environment! During the familiar tones of Metroid do you expect to see a band gripping the necks of their guitars, a pony-tailed snyth magician straining out the oh-so-familiar tones and a drummer pump out the beats. Accompany this with a room full of rabid retro-gaming fans yelling out 'SAMUS!!' and it's like you're in a different world - one that appreciates the intricate nature of Metroid's level design, the combos of Double Dragon or even the aesthetics of Castlevania.

The Rapture. (enlarge)

Their seemless set came with a handy follow along program and featured 1-2 minute segements from Bubble Bobble, Metriod, Arkanoid, Conan, Double Dragon, Defender of the Crown, Legend of Zelda, Contra, Dragon's Lair, Altered Beast, Ms. Pac Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Super Mario Brothers and more. When the band finished playing the crowd chanted for Megaman and The Power-Ups delivered. While the music was throughly enjoyable on its own, the presentation would have been even more evocative with visuals from the games represented. Maybe next time, because although The Power-Ups was formed as a summer project with the goal of a single concert perhaps there was enough encouragement from the crowd that evening to inspire future performances. Hopefully they will join the ranks of other gamer rock/remix bands such as The Minibosses and continue to rock out, if just occasionally.