Another Friday night, another chiptunes show…
I just got home from the International Chiptune Resistance fundraiser show, and normally I wait till the weekend’s over to make a report, but the show was so fucking good that I’m still super pumped, so I guess I’ll pass along the details right now.
First off, I wasn’t able to convince any friends to go with me to the show. Lame. Though I guess it doesn’t help that MK, Robin, and others are all in San Fran right now for APE. Brian, aka click, of click-stick fame, was also supposed to make an appearance, but he was a no-show was well. Bummer. At least Job was there, along with his girlfriend Michelle, whom I sorta know from way back when she was working at SVA as a student worker in the writing resource center, which is where I would go to job and apartment hunting; I was both unemployed & homeless at the time (this was when I was sleeping on a different friend’s floor each and every night of the week, back in late 2002), and I was particularly frazzled. Hence why I she noted that I seemed far happier and healthier compared to back then (I was skinny as a stick back then due to all the stress… though to be honest, I sorta liked that). I also felt stupid for not getting the word out properly about the show, via the GAF and Insert Credit, which I’ve been meaning to since last night, but kept forgetting to do. But I digress…
Anyway, its a shame all those folks who should have made it out but couldn’t, because it was easily one of the best chiptunes shows I’ve ever been to, and I know I say that all the time, but I swear to God, this time I really mean it (it easily ranks in the top three). The venue was the Tank once again, and I have to admit that I was a bit weary due to all the sound problems last time, but they were obviously fixed, because everyone sounded super awesome. Plus, I’ve been to various shows where there’s visuals that accompany the music, which is usually messed up computer code and assorted game gibberish, and its extremely hit or miss, but whoever provided the sights for tonight simply did a kick ass job (I really wish I remembered his name… it was scrambled game and computer data once again, but done very, very well, with total rhyme and reason).
Onto the music. Like I said, the audio was spot on, as were all the performances. Bit Shifter kicked things off with another one of his patented high impact sets, though it was punctuated by the fact that he looked as if he was really enjoying himself (which led to him talking more during this one set that I have ever heard him speaking before at every other performance, combined). And why not? Him and nullsleep had every reason to by hyped and proud of it, with them forging uncharted territory with an unprecedented chiptunes world tour in just a few weeks.
… BTW, I’m super sorry if I’m rambling and not making any sense, its just that I’m still high off of the show; it was that good!
Next up was a guy that I knew nothing about, Tugboat. I didn’t catch his real name (who happened to be friends with Job), but I got to chat with him a bit before things started. The guy was pretty nervous for whatever reasons, and told me ahead of time that he had cut his set short by getting rid of all the covers (which is a shame, since I love covers of classic tunes via the NES/Game Boy sound chip). Anyway, as for his performance…. dear God, the guy was fucking amazing. Tugboat basically composed and recorded all the chip work ahead of time and had it playing off an iPod, while he played drums live. I can’t even begin to describe it, but the guy is easily one of the best chip composers I have ever heard. Each song flowed seamlessly, one into another, with graceful changes in tempo, rhythm, and emotion… it was like witnessing an entire chiptunes concept album happening live. Some pieces felt distinctly Capcom-ish (in particular, Mega Man 4), while another one in particular would be totally perfect if Quentin Tarantino ever decided to create a NES game. Overall, one of the strongest live solo live performances I’ve seen, regardless of instrument. Tugboat has a new fan for life in me.
Finally was nullsleep. This time around, instead of a NES, he had a Famicom to help provide his sound, which of course was super hawt. Of all the times I’ve seen Jeremiah play, it’s never been as good as this. Once again, the audio was finally up to snuff, to the point that it seriously was like listening to everything for the very first time again (I was able to make out parts that I never even knew was there). There was some minor difficulty in some spots, such as the hardware locking up at the end of two or three songs, but that’s what makes it all so punk rock (maybe not punk rock per say, but… you know what I mean). Fuck, if only established “rock stars” like Aerosmith and Metallica could be lucky enough to end a song due to a Game Boy needing to be reset (I know, I know… really poor examples, but I guess it shows how out of the loop I am with music… should I say Coldplay instead?).
But yeah, one of the best shows ever. And it was just nice seeing Josh and Jeremiah before they embark on their tour. I also got to chat with Tugboat and tell him how awesome his performance was. I was shocked and horrified to discover that he had no CDs or even a proper website! Just a MySpace page, which I guess is better than nothing.
Man, the tour is going to be something else… I wish I had the money and the time to be a full-time chiptunes groupie by following the tour across the globe. Hence why I’m geeking out so hard right, to compensate. Which I guess I’ll quit right now.
