Touring show: Bit Brigade Performs “Mega Man X” LIVE w/ Super Guitar Bros

[Johncarllos]

Got tickets in Portland, Maine for the 19th (about 45 minutes South of me). Pretty ding dang jazzed, flier attached.

I was big into Game Grumps a decade ago (and catch some of their viral stuff lately), so I know Super Guitar Bros through their albums with Dan Avidan/Ninja Sex Party.

Live accompaniment to a MMX speedrunner is gonna be silly and just so refreshing for a live show.

Is the show only going to be an hour? My PB is under an hour for 100%. I hope they have SFX on, instead of muted. I also hope they play on original hardware, or FPGA equivalent.

[Johncarllos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N06-HNJzu0A

I did a 5 hour drive to see Not Another D&D Podcast in NYC at Radio City Music Hall last month, and this might be the nerdiest show I've ever been to.

[Majikn]

What would blow me away even more here is if they hooked the SNES up to machine where the SFX outputs would trigger certain instruments or sound effects to integrate with the live performance.

I get that's probably not the goal here but it's the first thing I thought of.

The only thing I know Super Guitar Bros for is that cover of "Time Stand Still" that they did with Dan. Which I love.

[Johncarllos]

Based on the footage I've seen, they just have the pedals and experience to nail it in the moment.

I think the SNES (or whatever) has BGM off, and sound effects play full volume alongside the live music. Also, they integrate classic MegaMan and some later X stuff into appropriate levels at transition points. Storm eagle is great, but they've play X2 Hunter stage 1 after getting the helmet upgrade.

I'm gonna take a break from Alan Wake 2 (which I've been working on for over a year, on and off) this week and just blast through the first 3 games in the X collection in preparation for this show.

I love the Super Guitar Bros cover of The Chain by Fleetwood Mac with Dan Avidan.

Even if it was total amateurs, it's worth $30.

[TheRedPriest]

And how was it?

[Johncarllos]

I was actually really impressed with it. The band was entirely on point, the speed runner only got accidentally hit maybe thrice, and for a live show the game had to be a modded version with custom sound track queueing. I believe it was a modded cart still running on a SNES or equivalent FPGA as all the slowdowns were accurate. They also threw in a few easter eggs (sprite swap, special text boxes with meta commentary or jokes, etc...).

The band played all the music through the first 3 levels, then skipped the 'Weapon get" and "Stage Select" music while the original BGM played after that, this went hand in hand with the pace picking up. Sometimes for boss battles they would play other boss tunes, and on longer levels they would weave in other famous tracks, like MM2 Wily stage 1.

At the end, there was a custom in game credits roll for the band, managers, audio guys, and crew.

I'd say my extensive knowledge of the game and 'purist' attitude towards speed running spoiled the show a little once I realized it was a custom ROM, and it wasn't any% or 100%. Grabbed the easy hearts, maybe 2 sub tanks, and all upgrades before Sigma. By the end and a couple drinks I was just vibing and enjoying the music in a crowd of nerds in a small and very loud venue.

Apparently last year they did Super Mario World, and make Portland a yearly stop. Depending on what game they accompany next year, I'd definitely go again. The whole show was maybe 1:20 from opening to credits, which was just in time for people to get bored of boss music.


Musically, I was pumped up the whole time. Loud drums with great fills during transitions, 2 lead guitars that often battled back and forth, and a bassist who played the bass junk funky and fun enough that it was notable without overshadowing the core guitar melodies.

If they're near you, it's well worth the sub-$50 tickets!

[TheRedPriest]

$50?!  I could buy 5 minutes of long distance with that kind of money.