BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

All about Weird Al's concerts and other live appearances.

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The Doctor
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by The Doctor »

Muppetboy09 wrote:I freaking missed it. I hate everything. Hopefully the master recording will pop up online...grrrrr
There's a very good chance it'll show up in the Video Archive at some point tomorrow.
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by Muppetboy09 »

The Doctor wrote:
Muppetboy09 wrote:I freaking missed it. I hate everything. Hopefully the master recording will pop up online...grrrrr
There's a very good chance it'll show up in the Video Archive at some point tomorrow.
Yeah, it looks like they uploaded the opening ceremony the day after, so they'll probably upload the closing ceremony soon.
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by catladyleeann »

That concert was amazing! With the virtual ticket, we got to see much better "up close and personal" shots of Al and the guys, as well as 3-D views, also. I was beyond thrilled to see Al again this year, especially after resigning myself to waiting until 2018 for another glimpse at all this incredible talent.

I'm a happy gurl right now :D
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by stardrop »

FYI, Blizzcon site now says "Virtual Tickets on sale through Nov 15" - so there is still time to buy it and watch the video archive(when it'll be available).
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by Sappho »

The set list was basically the Mandatory Tour, without Wanna B Ur Lovr because it was a standing room concert. Tacky saw Al walking from outside through some of the (I assume) backstage area of the con, passing a few of the costume contest finalists on the way which got some cheers, before emerging into the audience right near the stage and high fiving a good chuck of the front row.

The crowd being full of game and computer nerds, Pentiums got a big reaction, of course. As did White & Nerdy. He had a lot of space to drive around his Segway and he used pretty much all of it, he went pretty fast! Like A Surgeon also got some big cheers, and Al held that long note near the end for a very long time. People cheered, then stopped, then cheered again, it was funny.

And people were audibly singing along with The Saga Begins (one of the few songs that get quiet enough that you can actually hear that). There were some troubles with the sound from Jim's guitar though during Saga, so the last part of the first verses Al was singing pretty much a capella. I heard it working during the middle of the song, but by the final chorus it had conked out again and the final choruses were practically a capella again. It was actually kind of cool as it basically turned into a huge audience singalong.

I wasn't so fond of Scott and Lauren Lapkus' bits in between. I mean, it was kind of funny, but it wasn't their best work. It just didn't really fit for a gaming convention. Though Scott looked pretty spectacular in that shoulder length white "Assange" wig, and I liked Lauren's callback to the ;P emoji being the sadface emoji when she was "sad" about the concert ending after Amish Paradise.

The only thing that was a bit annoying was the camera work, or rather the choices of the director. There were these extended closeups of the band and their instruments, and while I love them and think they absolutely deserve some attention, the shots were just way too long - to the point where they would make us miss the funny stuff Al was up to in the mean time. And during Ode to a Superhero the camera was pretty much just closeup on Al's face, and, again, while I love watching Al's face in closeup, it meant we didn't get to see any of the funny stuff Hawkeye gets up to while he waits next to Al, because oh yeah they pulled Hawkeye out of retirement to stage manage this ride one last time baby! :peace:

In the end, I'm glad I bought this ticket. I've been pretty disappointed with finding out that all the really interesting behind the scenes game development panels weren't being streamed (or apparently recorded at all), and the streams had a habit of being somewhat buggy throughout the weekend, but somehow during the concert - despite a small hiccup near the start - everything behaved and I was able to watch it all without incident.

It's strange. On the surface it's pretty much the same as watching a DVD really, but somehow knowing that this is all ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW makes it... something more. Lends a magic to it somehow that just isn't there on the DVD. I had a great time sitting in my living room with my big headphones on in the middle of the night cheering quietly (because middle of the night + thin walls) and dancing and waving my arms all around like a crazy person. :tacky: I'm more determined than ever to actually be there in person someday. Al, you better come back to Europe, you hear! Don't make me fly out there! :up:

OMG YOU GUYS I ACTUALLY WROTE A CONCERT REPORT :tacky:

Ok I'll shut up now. :zipper:
Love and peace.
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by senorconebra »

it's also up on youtube, if you search for it
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by Sappho »

senorconebra wrote:it's also up on youtube, if you search for it
Of course it is. There were at least 27 phones held up in each shot I saw of the audience. :D
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by senorconebra »

The original broadcast recording is, I meant


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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by Muppetboy09 »

So, overall, I thought it was very good considering it was all live. Here are my notes (WARNING: MAJOR NITPICKS)

Tacky - The first 15 seconds were very troublesome, with both the audience feed and the board feed playing at the same time, making it sound awful. Got fixed quickly enough, enjoyed hearing the band sing during the chorus.
Lame Claim to Fame - I'm really enjoying the camera work. We are getting so many shots of the band (unlike the Alpocalypse Tour)
Now That's What I Call Polka - Love hearing the intricacies of the accordion.
Perform this Way - Personally, I think this was a better performance than the Alpocalypse DVD
Dare to be Stupid - Seems like Jon's drum pad wasn't functioning here. Still a good performance, and cool that we have 2 recording o
Fat - We were missing some of the trumpet section, but other than that, it went normally.
First World Problems - It was during this number that I realized a few locks of Al's curls have gone completely grey! Nice to have an official live recording of this song.
Foil - Even better than their Conan performance
Smells Like Nirvana - It still baffles me how he is able to pull this song of vocally. Sounded great, minus a few sound effects missing

Medley
PITCIA- Got worried at first, as he seemed to have forgotten the song for the first couple verses. Nice recovery, good performance
Pentiums - Audience seemed to have loved this one
Handy - Bermudas mic wasn't working, nor was his drum pad, meaning we lost all the snare hits
Bedrock Anthem - Lots of energy from Al during this. For some reason, they cut all the backing tracks at the end, which was quite odd
Another One Rides the Bus - Beginning was really awkward, they muted Al's accordion
Ode to a Superhero - They muted Ruben at the beginning, so that was weird. Could have used more Hawkeye shots, but at least we have that on the Alpocalypse Tour DVD
Gump - Some nice piano parts in the background that aren't usually heard.
Inactive - The beginning was hard to hear over the crowd, but other than that, no major complaints
Ebay - Good performance overall. The bands mics could have been louder
Canadian Idiot - Really solid! Sometimes this song can be a bit rough on his voice, but this was really enjoyable

Acoustic Medley
Eat It - Ruben's piano doesn't seem to be working
Jeopardy - The snare is really loud. Also, laughing at the guy screaming "No!" when Don Pardo is listing off all the things Al didn't win
Rocky Road - Beautiful harmonies, as always
Like a Surgeon - Holy crap, that note is still being held as I type this

White & Nerdy - He was flying on that Segway. The guys have really mastered this song over the years
Word Crimes - For once, the bands mics were higher than the backing tracks. This makes me incredibly happy. Also, Al nailed all the falsetto parts. Amazing performance
Amish Paradise - You can never go wrong with this song. Great recording of the new outro jam.

We All Have Cell Phones - There were all ready so many cell phones out before the song started, so it was kind of ironic
The Saga Begins - The crowd was really into this one. Unfortunately, Jim's guitar wasn't working for the beginning or end. And during the end, some guy was talking, so that sucked.
Yoda - To think this might be the last time the show is closed like this is weird. Anyway, stellar performance all around, Yoda Chant was enjoyable as always (why does it feel like they get faster every time they do it?).

Again, I thought this went remarkably well for being a live broadcast. Things could have gone terribly wrong, but instead, we got a quality recording of this tour! We now have 4 (I REPEAT, FOUR) tour master recordings: RWS, SOL, Alpocalypse, and MF. So cool!
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Re: BlizzCon 4-5 November 2016

Post by Big Spoon »

Muppetboy09 wrote:We now have 4 (I REPEAT, FOUR) tour master recordings: RWS, SOL, Alpocalypse, and MF. So cool!

When do we have one of the SOL tour from?
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