Review: Video Game Orchestra at Berklee
It’s a Thursday night, and the vestibule of the Berklee Performance
Center is squirming with hopefuls trying to get into tonight’s
way-sold-out show. A girl offering up a spare ticket sets off a
grabbing frenzy. From the security guard’s perplexed crowd-control
attempts, I get the impression that the BPC was not entirely prepared
for this onslaught. Then again, this is not your typical Berklee
recital — this is the Video Game Orchestra.
The nearly 90
student musicians — that includes a full orchestra, a rock band, and a
chorus — of the VGO are packed like sardines on the BPC stage, scooched
right up to the edge. Without fanfare, they launch into “Bombing
Mission” from Final Fantasy VII, a piece that sets the tone of the evening: cinematic, stirring, and terribly earnest.
The
sole sly wink of the program comes when VGO producer Shota Nakama leads
the audience in a sing-along of the Sega loading-screen jingle before
the orchestra plays the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 medley. Next up is a whirlwind composite of Donkey Kong Country done in vivacious big-band style. For me, this is like mainlining ’90s nostalgia.
“Now we have a most epic metal piece for you guys,” one VGOer announces. A snippet from God of War,
it’s introduced by its composer, Gerard Marino. And lo, it is epic —
pagan and fiery, with stentorian horns, doomy choir vocals, and brutal
guitar shredding galore. I scan the crowd and catch a glimpse of Marino
headbanging along to his creation. Behind him, a lone fist pumps.
The show serves up a parade of cameo appearances: Brothers in Arms composer Duncan Watt (“You people are a composer’s dream,” he gushes) followed by Keith Zizza (Caesar IV) and Video Games Live luminary Jack Wall (Myst), who jumps in as guest conductor. It all concludes with Final Fantasy VII’s
“One-Winged Angel,” a bombastic number laden with shrieking strings and
a chorus barking out the name of über-baddie Sephiroth; the piece ends
to wild applause and a standing O. One thing is clear: next time, these
kids need a bigger room.
"One-Winged Angel" from VGO's 2008 Concert at Church of the Covenant