The orchestra performed classics from games such as The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. while audiences played the games along with them.
DAVENPORT, Iowa — On Friday, Jan. 2, in the Redstone Room’s control booth, there were just as many computers as instruments.
“We’ve got an emulator, console, switching, then we’ve got macros that are telling everything what to do,” Gabe Zeigler, technical support for Big Head Mode said.
The group has been working for a year to arrange and practice one particular type of music.
“We are friends particularly because we love video games, so why not try to put that together into a show and perform it for everybody else?” Bryce Swanson, band director, said.
Henry Nguyen was on vocals, with a dozen musicians behind him. But they didn’t just play any concert. The audience was able to play the video games while the orchestra played the music they came from. Zeigler pulled up games and videos on a projector, letting audience members grab a controller.
The band played songs from classic games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, along with newer hits; fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Super Smash Bros. Melee; adventures like Yakuza and Metal Gear Solid; and the off-the-wall Playstation 2 title Katamari Damacy.
“Zelda came out in 1986,” Bryce said. “People still love that music. They can recognize the theme to Mario. That’s one of the reasons we love doing this,” Nguyen said.
But the show was all for the love of the game.
“The idea is if they walk away having fun, we’ve accomplished our goal,” Nguyen said.