Didn’t I just see Video Games Live? It’s a good thing I’d easy pay to see the concert multiple times a year, because my good man Tommy Tallarico is working on some arrangements the fans have been dying for. Sure, thousands of us would have been satisfied that Chrono Trigger is confirmed for future programs. Thousands more would have freaked out that Mega Man music is making its way to the tour. But that’s not all, kids!

VGL concerts later this year may pull from Tommy’s newest arrangements of Chrono Cross, Shenmue, Shadow of the Colossus, Earthworm Jim, among undoubtedly more. Check your calendars, and buy those tickets!

Dailymotion
via GoNintendo

Most of you should be familiar with Video Games Live by now, especially if you’ve been around here towards the end of each week. I usually put up a “Friday Night Concert” post, exposing you all to video game music performed by professionals musicians. Often times, that professional ensemble is Video Games Live. This past Saturday, a few of us around here actually got to catch their performance live for the first time, and we liked what we saw.

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So normally about this time each Friday, I try to post a video of game music played in a professional or artistic manner. As a music major running a video game site, I love to promote those who combine the world of video games with the world of symphony orchestras, chamber recitals, piano solos… all that good stuff.

This week, I won’t be posting a video. Instead, we’d like to offer you the chance to experience a game music concert on your own, live. We’ve got at least TWO free tickets to the November 15, 2008 VIDEO GAMES LIVE concert at the Chicago Theatre. Those interested in winning the tickets are asked to email us directly and immediately at thetanooki[at]thetanooki[at]com with your name and contact information. Starting at 8pm CST, we’ll bring back our popular Treasure Ship contest, updating with a new chance for points every so often, announcing the winner at noon on Saturday. You’ll have to meet us at the theater to obtain your tickets, but hey, they’re free, so what do you care? :P

The rules are pretty simple: We’ll post some type of trivia challenge in each Treasure Ship post, and the first person to post a comment to that specific Treasure Ship post with the correct answer gets a point. You can only guess/answer once per Treasure Ship post. Whoever has the most points at the end, wins! Check back starting in just about an hour from this post, and check back often over the night and into the morning for your chances to win!

Note: I (Christian) will be doing most of the Treasure Ship posts tonight instead of Matt. I’ve never done this before, so feel free to yell at me and slap the back of my hand if I’m not doing something like he does.

Happy Halloween! Anyone dressed as a video game character? Or better yet, anyone playing any scary games?

Believe it or not, I’m actually spending a lot of today listening to scary video game soundtracks. I’ve essentially got this haunted house of Halloween decorations, and I’m using game music to set the mood. There’s a lot of Fatal Frame, Resident Evil, Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Assassin’s Creed… and Castlevania. I figured something from the latter would be appropriate for tonight, so enjoy Video Games Live’s performance of Castlevania music!

YouTube

So according to the press release after the break, this comment is from Tommy Tallarico:

If Beethoven were alive today, he would probably be a video-game composer.

Quite the statement, huh? If that’s the case, we better start including video game soundtracks on Music History listening tests. I’d be all over those questions. To make it easier to get a hold of the recordings, Video Games Live has recorded an 11-piece compilation at the Abbey Road Studios in London. You can see what exactly makes up the track list after the break. Still needs more Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda.

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