11/15/2010

“Welcome To My Country & To My Unit”: ATTRACT MODE X BABYCASTLES Wrap-Up Part 3

by Matthew Edward Hawkins

For those who missed it, here’s part one and part two of my entire rundown. And finally, onto:

The Opening (concluded)

The final act of the evening was the man who, among countless other accolades, helped to put NYC on the chiptunes map and was basically the one guy that both Adam and myself had to have perform at our show, no if’s, and’s, or but’s. As expected, Nullsleep fucking delivered, and then some…

… In the end, dude completely destroyed all of the space’s audio equipment!

Here’s Adam, basking in the glory of an absolutely amazing evening…

Last shot of the night, around 1:30am, of the Babycastles neon sign. Which was supposed to go over the cabinets, but due to a lack of time, was simply tossed in the bathroom…

In the end, despite a host of issues plus assorted nonsense going against it, the opening was a massive success. Not quite as many folks turned out as I had hoped, but considering the lack of time to properly promote (never-mind how planning and executing the entire thing didn?t go entirely according as planed either), it still turned out amazingly well and the opening was still legit packed (yet not to an uncomfortable degree, like the last Queens show, which would have been the case if more had indeed showed up). The most important part is how those that showed up ended up staying the majority of the evening. As already stated, the games we had were of top-notch caliber, plus the music was easily the finest assortment of chiptunes that one will find anywhere. I’m especially thrilled that long time pals who have heard me go on and on about Game Boy music for literally years but without actually checking it out themselves finally got a taste! Plus we had so much awesomeness on the walls, as well as those beautifully decorated arcade cabinets…

I seriously need to thank each and every person who came out that evening, along with everyone else that’s lent their support along the way; it’s been such a sincerely humbling experience. To simply hear afterward that everyone had such a great time, along with what a stellar job we did exhibiting and demonstrating all that is good about game culture, more than justified all the hard work and headaches for both myself and Adam. Speaking of which, the entire effort cemented the fact that we make an awesome team; it was an absolute honor to be working alongside the man, especially on such a massive project. And I was especially delighted with the chance to finally collaborate with Hilary and Dave as well, since I’ve been such a big time and long time fan of their bodies of work. They flat out exceeded my wildest of expectations, so I’m also supremely grateful for their time and effort. The only real bummer was how both Cory and Mar? couldn’t make it out, cuz their shit rocked the placed. Katie also deserves a special nod, for being by my side every step of the way, especially when I was all super stressed out (again, the road to the opening was a very rocky one indeed and on so many levels). But in the end, it all came together in spectacular fashion.

Unfortunately, you honestly had to be there to soak everything in, and as good of a job the preceding assortment of pictures does in capturing what a rocking party it all was (which btw are courtesy of my main man when it comes to photographic support, Earl Z. Madness; many thanks dude), you really can’t tell what the space was like by itself. Hence the following, taken the following Sunday…

The Aftermath

… Myself, Adam, and Hilary were brought back to the space to be part of Creighton and Mallory‘s Dubble Jump, which you can check out here…

Dubble Jump at BabyCastles from Dubble Jump on Vimeo.

UPDATE: As some might have heard, those of you who wish to have a piece of the show at home will be able to do so very soon! As reported in Kotaku, the Pokemans will eventually be on sale over at Attract Mode (and for just $100 a pop)!

With the opening finally done and over with, it was time to celebrate! Following the Dubble Jump shoot, Hilary and I took Adam to our fave Japanese joint, Hagi, where Katie also joined us…

The highlight was most definitely Hilary finally ordering their plate of spaghetti, something the both of us have entertained for literally years but have been too chicken to actually do so…

… We often joke that Japanese spaghetti features ketchup and worcestershire sauce, and in the end, that estimation was not too far from the truth!

Afterward, we made it back to Katie and I’s place, to indulge in my fairly massive import gaming collection. Not surprisingly, both Adam and Hilary fell head over hells for Vib Ribbon, though the real stand out was Dog of Bay, a long-standing hit at my comic con and anime fest presentations for years now. And which Adam actually managed to figure out how to play!

None of us could believe what we were witnessing, and I wasn’t the only one who had to capture the moment…

The final, soulful dance by some dog chick…

The rest of Adam’s stay was remarkably similar to my previous Babycastles show’s guest of honor’s (aka Phil Fish); Adam was dying to check out what New York cable access was all about, a task I was more than up for handling! Myself and Katie also took him to some of our favorite haunts, like the dive-y karaoke joint in Chinatown, where I once again destroyed my vocal chords via Bon Jovi’s Bad Medicine, plus both Katie and Adam Rickrolled the unsuspecting crowd. Adam also got to check out the square donut place that I didn’t even know about, as well as simply experience what it?s like to be in NYC from a non-tourist?s point of view.

Though what made his visit extra memorable, I’d like to think, was how he lost his cell phone in a late night cab ride (on the way to the 24 Venezuelan sandwich shop that Nullsleep took us to after the opening, which I had no idea existed in my neighborhood) and how it was back in his hands about 48 hours later! I know so many folks who have lost their phones in such a manner, myself included, and they always return to their original owners.

Adam’s final night was spent at Dave’s new apartment, sans Dave. Instead his new roommates were there, along with Jenn, who cooked for us all…

… God, I can still taste that chicken in my mouth. Moving on, here we have Gabe Liberti and the rest of the boys from Anamanaguchi, all trying to figure out how to operate Dave’s Astro City to get a game of Third Strike on (none of us could figure out how to get the player two side operational)…

Mia and Joe ended up stopping by…

Knife City, just chillin’…

George and Jenn, checking out a DVD filled with hilariously awful music videos from unknown hardcore bands from various parts of Jersey. Or was it Long Island?

… Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay too long cuz Adam had to fly back to LA the next morning (and I wonder if any of it compared to this). Still, in the end, I think Adam had a great time in NYC!

… I guess that’s it? Since Adam returned home, I’ve mostly been in recovery mode. This has been the craziest year ever, with ATTRACT MODE X BABYCASTLES being the grand culmination of so many things, and I am seriously spent. Thanks again for everyone for making it happen!!!

So what’s ahead? First and foremost, rest. Though I already have plenty of crazy awesome things potentially lined up, which will mostly be going down in 2011. But that thing I’m whipping up with Eric Zimmerman and Nathalie Pozzi will take place at Babycastles in the first week of December, on the 2nd to be exact. Save the date! I also have something special on tap for the blog, which as most folks know already, hasn’t gotten much love in far too long. So be sure to stick around here as well (will more than likely be announced close to the end of the year).

As always, stay alert…

  • http://bltidm.com Jenn

    My offer still stands dude! If you buy groceries, I will cook in your house :D

  • Sheep_Herder

    Quick question about that b&w game that you mentioned in part 1,”Deth P Sun & Cactu?s untitled game”, what is that one about? That caught my eye and looks pretty cool.

  • Leia

    Terrible hardcore bands from Rockland County, NY (just across the hudson river)!

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