Gamers for Life!

Video Games Live scores high with the Summer Pops Series

Tchaikovsky was a great guy, I’ll give him that. That overture deal was real cool. And the nutcracker got my toe tappin’ all right. But hearing — of all things — video game music come out of those same horns and strings was the icing on my pixilated superpower-infused cake.

Video Games Live, as part of the San Diego Symphony’s Summer Pops Series, celebrated video games from all ages in a glory that even the bayfront, skyline view of San Diego’s Embarcadero Marina Park seemed a little subpar. Well, I won’t go that far — the view astounds me every time.

I walked through the hoards of gamers, Comic-Con lanyards still hanging from their necks like gold medals, and found my seat between a die-hard Zelda guru and a 30-something-year-old couple who had just gotten off work downtown. My neighbors represented the demographic of the evening perfectly, putting to rest any stereotypes I may have had prior to the concert or Comic-Con itself.

The show began with a song from the game Metroid, and while the symphony interpreted its adventurous hymn, three digital screens projected images from the game. Had I not been sitting back in the grandstand area, I probably would have been squirming in my seat, anxious for the galactic obstacles to pass.

But then the show branched off from your typical Thursday night concert. Our emcee invited a random volunteer to the stage to play Space Invaders. This was easy enough for more than half the people there. However, I’m willing to bet none of them have ever played in front of 3,000 people — including a symphony making the sound effects to your every move.

From there, the show continued to outdo itself. With every new act came a surprising and outrageous twist. I watched a live game of Guitar Hero, featuring some guy named Joe from Boston. Famed voice actor Dee Baker performed on stage his many vocal impressions. And Youtube pianist Martin Leung played the Super Mario Brothers theme song — blindfolded.

And then there were fireworks, of course. Only I noticed very few of the gamers around me watching them. On this night, the fantastical heroes through which they had lived parts of their lives were being glorified and celebrated with symphonic praise. Their fireworks were on the stage, not over the bay.

The San Diego Symphony’s Summer Pops Series offers a wide range of performances such as this through the end of August (including tonight) at Embarcadero Marina Park South, 206 Marina Park Way, 619-235-0804, sandiegosymphony.com/summerpops.

What’s your favorite video game soundtrack of all time? Tell us about it below …

Do you like what you read? Subscribe to San Diego Magazine »