MAGFest X (1/2)

Kiddies, gather round and listen to your Auntie Aine. I woke up early in the middle of a convention, MarsCon, that I love, so that I could sneak around behind its back and write about MAGFest. So this is really an after-school special about procrastination. Do as I say, not as I do and all that. Wait! MarsCon! I can explain!


MAGFest was enormous. I mean, I've been to cons that were higher-volume just from a body count standpoint. However, there is a scale to the Gaylord convention center that suited MAGFest well. When I get nostalgic - and I mean really, hardcore, 2am, "Why could I never beat my ex at Smash Bros" nostalgia for video games - the games have a sense of scale or grandeur. Games matter in a way that is hard to describe to people who can't point to large portions of their formative years and say things like, "Then we were settled it with the high scores for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the SNES."


In fact, I'm breaking this into two posts, that's how big MAGFest was. Part One: Concerts and Parties.


As soon as I left registration, I found myself at one of the several [nearly] non-stop concert rooms. I heard the laughter before I heard the music, and I stopped in, thinking "ooh, I'll get to play with camera adjustments for concert photography later." The performer was the illustrious Brentalfloss. So instead, I wound up laughing so hard I could barely focus my shots. Oh Tetris, why can't I quit you?

All eyes are riveted to Brentalfloss as he sings.

As evidenced by our Flickr feed, I also made the concerts for the Megas, the Minibosses, and Year 200X. You know why I love my earplugs? Because I got to actually hear the music at these concerts. I started to leave them out. (after all, only an asshole would wear earplugs to a concert, right?) But I realized after about ten minutes that these industrial strength bits of foam weren't strong enough to block all sound, but without them I would have been a migraine-riddled mess. 


I certainly wouldn't be here telling you to buy things from these bands because they are epic. I know everyone else who pays attention to video game music is now rolling their eyes because they already knew this. However, as a bit of a newb to the genre, I am just now catching on. Seriously, chiptunes are great, but these guys made me pause the OCRemix, stop being stingy, and support these guys.


I'll get into the dealer's room later, but that is where I had a chance to meet Random Encounter (which, now that I think of it, makes their band name even more apt). A wild Random Encounter appears! Careless uses Unabashed Charisma! It's super effective!

Damn, girl.

Seriously, I… I have no words. They threw the most energetic concert of the weekend. And they did it in the free jams room, and they did all their set-up, concert, and tear down in twenty damn minutes. The Flickr feed is full of these guys, but there's no way that I could capture on still shots how the accordion player jumped off the stage and ran victory laps with one of the guitarists mid-song. Random Encounter is stunning, both acoustically and aesthetically. I know the Nobuo fans will consider this blasphemy, but I think in terms of sheer heart, Random Encounter managed to outdo even the Earthbound Papas.


Which is saying a lot, because the Earthbound Papas had amazing energy: the type that can really only be generated when you realize you're mere feet from a composer you've idolized for years, and you're in a room with hundreds of people who feel that same sense of joy and awe.

Out of all the photos I've taken, this is my favorite.

Yes, the music was epic, but we all knew it would be. So I'm not sure how to give higher praise than simply to say that everyone I spoke to agreed that Earthbound Papas lived up to the hype, and love, and fandom, and anticipation that had been building for weeks.


I missed some of the concerts because I haven't mastered that whole cloning thing. Check out the additional performers while they're still listed on the MAGFest site.


Parties: MAGFest has them. I got about 10 hours sleep in 72 hours. It got to the point where we were all coordinating our room party's movements through five-digit codes via text message. It was exhausting. It was wonderful. I woke up with boot prints on my pillow and a free church key. 


And for all the bitching I did about the age-coded wristband system: Thank you, MAGFest. Once again, con organizers prove their wisdom. Four parties in, I don't know anyone and I realize that once you get under about 25, I lose all ability to see kids as anything other than "potentially 12 years old." Not that I was handing out liquor, but it was nice to not need to be paranoid.


Next year, I'm snagging one of those pet cams and clipping it to my lapel. I'll either get a lot of photos of random hallways, or I'll have Spider Jerusalem style evidence of all our wonderful shenanigans.


Coming up next: Games and Vending.