Kotaku: the oneups

See The OneUps And The Megas In Concert

AJ Glasser — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:40:00 MDT

If you're into video game music cover bands, get a good look at these vids — you won't see either band at the Penny Arcade Expos this year.

The OneUps and The Megas performed a free concert for participants of the Bay Area Game Jam a couple of weeks back. Sadly, their audience was rather small because the 24 hour time limit was almost up and there was still coding to be done.

But if you missed the concert, or missed out on Game Jam altogether, hit the jump to see their live performances.

Watch The Megas Concert in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Watch The OneUps in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The OneUps are a crowd favorite, performing jazz improvisation of familiar tunes like the themes to ToeJam & Earl and arrangements of more obscure music in games like Castlevania III and Super Mario RPG. Check out their site here.

The Megas are a band that write songs exclusively about Mega Man. They've never been invited to PAX, but they've had a CD out for a little over a year and they have at least one dedicated fan who's developed dance routines for their songs — so hopefully, we'll see more of them. Check 'em out here. (Oh, and their front man was out of the country during this concert — give it up for Tour Ball and his amazing stand-in performance.)

The OnesUps' front man Mustin told me that the band wasn't given a reason why they weren't invited to PAX this year; but he did stress that their last two appearances had done a lot for the OneUps, so no sour grapes on their part. I couldn't get in touch directly with PAX organizers for comment on how they choose the lineup each year; but a PAX publicist told me that the organizers would announce this year's acts for both expos sometime soon. Stay tuned.

PAX 2008 Concerts - The One-Ups, Freezepop and Jonathan Coulton (I hope)

AJ Glasser — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:54:43 MDT

It’s late, I’m tired and the last thing I really want to hear right now is a Theremin solo by Freezepop – but since the other 1800 people in this room can’t seem to get enough, they’ve come back onstage for a two-song encore that’ll push Jonathan Coulton back by another half hour at least. I mean I know they’re in every Harmonix music game ever, but do they really need to destroy my ears with a quasi-Hendrix Star Spangled Banner rendition?

The One-Ups did well, as usual. And if I can keep my eyes open and my nose shut (this place smells like one giant sweaty fart), maybe – just maybe – I’ll get to hear Still Alive before the night’s out.

In the meantime, I’ve got fuzzy concert pictures that depict just how crowded, bright and insane it is here tonight at PAX 2008. I don’t know how the Minibosses are going to follow this act tomorrow night.

Bonus points if you can guess which ones were taken with man friend’s iPhone…

The OneUps Wail To Dancing Mad

brownlee — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:00:24 MDT

I haven't so much watched this video of the OneUps playing "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI as listened to it. The brief glimpses I've seen of the video running in the background as I blogged have been a bunch of pasty flabbos wailing on the guitar, while one lone groupie shrieks.

Still, it's great listening... why does this song sound like something I've also heard in a movie somewhere? Florian Eckhardt (Thanks, Mustin!)