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Rock Band Tournament (Preliminaries) |
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It was today, at the local library. Here's what went down:
So first, I got there an hour early to help set everything up. The tournament was part one of the monthly video game events the library always has (because my library is the best ever), so there were many other systems to help set up. After the rush to get everything working was over, I decided to relax... by playing Through The Fire and the Flames with a friend of mine (also one of the members of my Rock Band team, Elisha, the guitarist/bassist, though he wouldn't be today; more on that later). We went against each other on Pro Face-Off mode, so we'd be playing the song on the same difficulty and get the same amount of notes. We played the first of what would be two (mostly) rounds. We both agreed to not do the intro (because neither of us can do it worth a flying crap), so as soon as it ended, we began. I kept a lead in the beginning, but not long after Elisha took it and kept it for the majority of the song, until the very end where I was able to hand him his a** on platter. Beat him by 400 points, but nonetheless. We were starting a second round when we heard (from our band's vocalist, Noelle) that the tournament was going to start and we were going first. We never got to finish that round. emo
So we went to the meeting room where the tournament would be held. Earlier I had heard from my fellow band members that there was a Guitar Hero X-plorer controller being used... they were right; compared to the Rock Band Stratocaster, this thing was a little piece of heaven! A shape I'm familiar with (I have an X-plorer and a Les Paul GH controller), buttons easier to hit; I WOULD OWN!!! So I called it, with no objections from my friends (they WANTED me to use it; they all claim me to be the best at guitar/bass in the band... and so for that, I won't disagree xd ). After a while of waiting (and watching a girl nut-check some other guys, which was absolutely hilarious if not disturbing at the same time), we were the first to go. We didn't know what song we were going to play (well, some of the people in my band did; they got a look at the sheet), so I was nervous. My exact thoughts: DANI CALIFORNIA! DANI CALIFORNIA!!! And then came the blessed words:
"You will be playing Dani California on Hard." HELL TO THE YES!!! BRING ON THE PWNAGE!!! twisted
Only one problem: our current drummer (CJ) couldn't play on Hard, so we had to let our Elisha take his place (he could), so we had the CJ playing bass. I still played guitar, and Noelle still sang. A few spectators came in and then we began. I'm used to playing this song on Expert, so Hard was hella easy in comparison. Overall, we all did good (I believe I did best, though; 97% for the whole song, 98% in the ending solo, "Awesome Solo" wink , and gained a score of 531,000. Even so, we beat ourselves up after it because we all screwed up on parts we knew we could've done better on (especially me, there were so many parts of the chorus riff that I overstrummed on, and therefore forfeited a lot of combo points we could've used for a higher score). The second band was preparing after we went; at one point, a parent of one of the band members went up to Noelle and asked if she could sing for the band; however, she gave me the mic and let me do it, because she (and the rest of my band) knew that Dani California is my favorite song on Rock Band, and also the one I love to play most. Not to mention the highest I've done on Expert is 99%, and therefore own at the song more than they do. xd So I sang, and had a helluva lot of fun doing so; the second band began to catch up to our score, but (thankfully) they failed near the solo (their bassist SUCKED on Hard), and had a final score of 503,000. At least I got to sing the whole song! talk2hand The third band went up, and they did a pretty good job; however, they didn't do a good job of keeping a consistent combo going, and so ended with a score of about 450,000 or so. WE WERE STILL LEADING! Band number four went up... and failed almost immediately; it's apparent that none of them could play Hard worth much. At this point I thought victory for us was a given; the 2nd place band at the moment was incomplete, and so if nobody did better than them or us, they would have to forfeit when the deciding round came, making us VICTORS! Thinking a bit too early, however; the fifth band weren't like the others. The drummer was easily the best of all the drummers in the tournament, and could keep a very consistent combo, the vocalist knew the song well and could sing it just as well (not better than me, but nonetheless), and the bassist and guitarist were quite good. Overall, they mopped the floor with us: about 650,000 points was their end result. I was so scared that I nearly s**t myself... but that feeling went away after seeing band number 6, who featured another friend of mine (who could not play Rock Band if his life depended on it), and Elisha (he joined them to give them a fighting chance). Elisha was the only survivor; everybody else at one point failed at the song's beginning! THE COMEDY! xd
So after that laughs, the two best bands (mine and the fifth) met up in the meeting room to prepare for the last song we'd be playing to decide the winner. We all hoped for a song we could play well; what we got was Next To You by The Police (on Hard)... a song none of us really knew. We could feel failure's cold embrace! gonk So we bucked up and went to choose the song... but it wasn't there! IT WAS NOT IN THE SETLIST! Both bands rejoiced and, after failing to enter the song cheat (which was suggested to be done, but couldn't because nobody new how to properly enter it, thank the Lord), chose a new song: Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi (on Hard). It was a unanimous vote; who doesn't like Bon Jovi? 3nodding And so our band began playing... and not long after the song began came a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE amount of feedback coming from the speakers (caused by the mic). The piercing screeches distracted all of us (I tried to block it out, but it's reeeeeeeaaaaaally distracting when there's a ******** uber-loud screech slowly exploding your ear drums), and at one point even made Noelle fail because she got a headache (I had Overdrive at the time, so I could save her and keep the band alive)! Our final score was about 350,000, which was absolutely awful, and we knew that we pretty much lost. The second band went up and showed us no mercy; 399,000 was their final score, and victory was in their grasp. We complained to the guy in charge (Paul, who we knew, because he's only the coolest library worker IN EXISTENCE!!!) that the mic feedback that we got (and the other band didn't) had distracted us all from playing; Noelle added in that it gave her a headache it was so bad, so we got sympathy. He asked the other band if they wanted to let us have a second chance at playing to make it fair; they didn't really care, and so they let us try again (THAT is an example of good sportsmanship... or they were sure they had won; either or). And so we played again, avoiding mic feedback, thankfully; Noelle did a hell of a lot better, Elisha did a hell of a lot better, CJ played a hell of a lot better, and I played a hell of a lot better. The tension was so thick you'd need a rocket launcher to break it open! The song ended; our final score was...
490,000!!!
WE WON THE PRELIMINARIES!!! It was like something out of a cliched sports movie, where the heroes pull in at the very last second and win the game! THAT WAS SIMPLY EPIC!!! I was so bloody nervous throughout the second try that I was sweating uncontrollably; I had to calm myself by showing off whenever I could, making myself look in control. We gave everything we had, and we came out VICTORIOUS!!! With our victory comes guaranteed entry into the Finals Tournament next month, and if we win there, we get $200 dollars to Gamestop (splitting $50 all around), not to mention major bragging rights (hell, we have that now)! We also all got gift certificates from a sponsor for a free 30-minute teaching session on electric/acoustic guitar and bass; now I can learn how to play a REAL instrument! xd Electric all the way. ninja After a small bit of celebration, we got some pictures of our band taken with the various peripherals (we held our respective instruments), a pic of our band with the sponsor, and a pic of ours and the opposing band (I may post them here if I can find them). I feel so fulfilled... and full of fill. whee
After all that playing... I had the biggest urge to play some SSBB! I found a Wii-mote and joined in on the action... but I had a little surprise in the form of a friend with a hair straightener. While I played, I felt constant heat searing on my head due to the combination of a hot hair straightener and what my friend calls "pot spray" (because she said it smells like pot... makes me wonder how she can compare them so)... the smell was surprisingly good, actually. eek So yeah, I got my hair straightened at the video game event. I have no problems with it; when my hair is straightened, I look like Ozzy!... minus the drugs! In other words... ******** AWESOME!!! twisted I got a lot of looks of surprise from a lot of my friends; they all say I look totally different with straightened hair than I do with curly hair. I find that to be a good thing. I very much like this hair, and would still like to grow it out. 3nodding ... just not to the point where I look like the vocalist/guitarist of Coheed & Cambria; my hair straightened is like a miniature version of that guy's hair! xd
So, that was pretty much my day today: some of the most fun I have had this summer! I've got straightened hair (most likely temporary; the last time I had it straightened it returned to normal after a shower), a certificate for guitar lessons, a new level of RB bragging rights, and a chance for $50 at Gamestop.
Life, she is looking very good. cool
Die The Shisno · Sat Jun 28, 2008 @ 04:46am · 3 Comments |
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