Monday, Jan. 05, 2009

The Fallout Zone a success

For those of you who shelled out the $10 for First Night, I applaud you in helping keep this traditional entertainment alive.

Those of you who complained the tickets were too expensive... I've got nothing for you.

The Fallout Zone went on without a hitch this year, thanks to the artists' promptness and preparation. The sound guys didn't have any moans, groans, gripes or complaints, which made me all warm and fuzzy inside. And no, it wasn't from the alcohol.

Soul artist Jessie Beverly got the most praises that night. All the volunteers who passed through the HUB stopped to listen to her. It was a shame not as many people stayed put to hear her all the way through. She was a good sport about it, though.

The Guitar Hero contest was awesome, for a lack of a better word. The tiny side room smelled a little ripe as people kept cramming in like sardines. Why is it the stereotypical video game nerd smells funky and has a really bad blue hair dye job?

I hadn't even been at First Night for five minutes when a guy comes up and asks why we didn't choose Rock Band since it's so much better than Guitar Hero and then proceeds to mock me, asking if I really thought a lot of people would sign up. After coming in to watch the competition, he asked to sign up, saying he didn't know we could play singles - despite the fact that was the first thing I told him at the beginning of the night. But who's paying attention, anyway?

He later begged another player if he could take his time slot, offering him $20. I'd like to think this was a divine act of a karma.

The kid who won kicked everybody's ass. He was also the only contestant to garner an applause. After he went, all the previous contestants cleared out, knowing they had been beaten. Meanwhile, the rest of the players bit their bottom lips and gave it their best, but ultimately it wasn't enough.

I secretly wanted a five year old to come in and dominate. It would have made for a cute story. The guy who did win, shook my hand then promptly left the room. I couldn't even have snapped a picture of him for the archives - he bolted out of there with his Wii, probably afraid of getting jumped. Or maybe he was heading home to bust it out. I just hope I don't see it on eBay.