If going to a show where an orchestra plays music from video games makes me a nerd, then what does it mean when I go to two such shows in a month? After going to Video Games Live a month ago with (recap writing) Jenn, Saturday night I attended Play! A Video Game Symphony. The main difference between the two shows was the $50+ price disparity, which reflected itself in the quality of the arrangements, the guests, the size of the orchestra, the audience (and how it was dressed), and the lushness of the music. Maybe I’ll write a review later.
After the show, I went out to check out some Nuit Blanche exhibits. The first destination was by far the best, Fujiko Nakaya’s “Fog in Toronto” fog installation. It was really crowded and really, really muddy, but the experience was almost surreal. I took some photos!
The other stuff wasn’t as compelling. There were a lot of nice galleries open — and for the first time I saw the “Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art”, which was more interesting than I thought it would be — but those can be seen on any normal day without all the crowds. There was a tree wrapped in tin foil. OK. There was a wall with shoes on it. OK!? There was a projection of sheep on the Planetarium. OK. There was a projection of The Three Stooges on a wall, played at a fraction of normal speed. OK. There were some funky light things at Trinity Bellwoods and at the Drake and the Gladstone, but apart from that, there was only the fog. And it was muddy. But it was worth it.
