Some self-described Guitar Hero phenoms seek e-recognition by posting videos of their video-guitar heroics on YouTube. Others, turned off by the risk of some 14-year-old philistine’s commenting that their inspired take on Rush’s “YYZ” was, to quote from a recent posting, “totally gay,” now have another option: “Guitar Hero” night every Wednesday at Cambridge’s Common Ground. Think karaoke with virtual guitar playing instead of singing and you’ve got the idea.
A week ago Wednesday, despite a modest crowd (it was spring break), the excitement was palpable by 10 pm, even before the bar’s staff had lowered the imposing four-by-eight-foot projection screen. By the time the theme music for Guitar Hero II came blasting through the sound system, a number of eager twentysomething virtuosos had added their names and songs to a sign-up sheet. Event MC Donnie Beale’s announcement that the night’s first performer would be Alli playing “Sweet Child o’ Mine” was met with encouraging applause. Once you’d taken note of her Guitar Hero T-shirt, it wasn’t surprising to see her rip through the song, with the game set on “Hard” mode, no less. Raucous applause punctuated every successful solo completion.
The crowd, an entertaining mix of the nondescript, the slightly geeky, the very geeky, and the aging-and-perplexed, was generally supportive, though the brief silence following one contestant’s selection of the “Medium” difficulty level was the Guitar Hero equivalent of 30 people going “Pssh.” My forgettable but well-meaning attempt at Freezepop’s “Less Talk More Rokk” on “Expert” was met with polite applause and a satisfying nod of recognition from Josh, the night’s de facto shredding champion.
By half past midnight, the crowd had dwindled to extreme diehards and nervous newbies. But “Guitar Hero” fosters a supportive, safe, and fun environment in which to learn the game’s ropes. That is, as long as you don’t mind frustrated geeks yelling “Use your star power!” as you struggle through the solo on Danzig’s “Mother.”
