Named after an NES joystick, The Advantage tore apart the Warehouse Next Door on monday. The foursome from California plays instrumental Nintendo covers, but somehow aren’t gimmicky. With no keyboards or electronics, the two guitarists, bassist, and maniacal drummer have to be blisteringly fast and precise – hitting the turbo button as video gamers might say.
A good portion of the crowd seemed to leave after local openers Durga Temple and French Toast, and they missed an impressive show. With very little stage banter besides the occasional quiet “thanks,” the band ripped through familiar songs from the “Legend of Zelda” and “Contra,” and less familiar ones like “Bomberman 2.” Part of the fun was trying to figure out what we heard, as the band didn’t introduce any of the songs — a move that helped keep the kitsch factor down on the night, which was pretty low anyway. And even with the songs that weren’t easy to recognize, you could pick out which ones sounded like dungeon stages or fast stages and imagine the little characters on the screen. All the band members played with extreme speed and exactness, but drummer Spencer Seim, who also plays in noise-rock band Hella, was particularly fun to watch, looking crazed and intense for the whole set.
Nintendo music played by a band is pretty surprising in its diversity, which the New York Times credits to the music’s classically trained composers. Played by The Advantage, some songs sounded like they could have made great indie rock tracks if there were a singer. Some were choppy and almost hardcore-sounding, and others were mesmerizing in their repetition. The band, supporting its second album, “Elf Titled” (which has a pretty funny write-up) played many of the songs as medleys, stopping on a dime and changing tempos from song to song. One of the highlights was the theme song from “Bubble Bobble” (how often do you hear that?), where the band went from a midtempo version straight into an incredibly fast version, with both guitarists and the bassist matching each other note for note. After finishing the song, someone in the stunned audience yelled out “that was ridiculous!” and I’m sure most people there agreed.
The audience requests were also pretty amusing, both because they aren’t your usual song titles, like “Duck Tales,” and because I had forgotten about some of the games, like “Faxanadu.” Their tour EP had other oldies like “Fester’s Quest” and the first “Final Fantasy.” To mix things up and probably relieve any boredom they might encounter playing the same Nintendo songs night after night, they also threw in a few short improvs and bits from the Breeders and the Beatles. The crowd seemed to love the show, and I hope the band comes back and keeps expanding their Nintendo oeuvre. May I suggest “Tecmo Bowl”?
Photo by Flickr user easement
