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Brian James Kirk Geeks Out

by Brian James Kirk

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Video Games Live

Tommy Tallarico, who's performed his symphonic music show Video Games Live in front of 500,000 people worldwide, believes that the cultural significance of games could help usher in a new generation of orchestra fans. It still takes 21st-century coaxing: The brass, strings and choir are jazzed with rock-show lighting, video compilations and live, dynamically-backed game playing. Thing is, the catchy, quintessential classics, played as a chronological medley starting with Pong and ending with Tetris, stand on their own. "Take a game like Mario or Castlevania, all they had was the melody line," says Tallarico. "If Beethoven were alive today, he'd be a video game composer."

Sun., Oct. 11, 3 and 7:30 p.m., $35-$65, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

Ready>Run

Dusty, hacked video-game consoles on display at the "READY>RUN" exhibit are helping to legitimize 8-bit culture in Philadelphia. Throughout the room, music is hardcoded onto cartridges and paired with contemporary, pixelated designs. An Atari joystick controls video static on a Commodore monitor, while a mosaic of '80s game graphics mutate on another screen, reacting to a PowerPad. It's a reminder of the good ol' days, kinks and all. "With a painting, you hang it on the wall, make sure it's level and call it a day," says curator David Clayton. "[This] takes a lot more maintenance. A few of the machines, you have to take the cartridge out and blow on them."

Ends Nov. 7, free, Esther M. Klein Art Gallery, 3600 Market St., 215-966-6188, kleinartgallery.org.

Ignite Philly 4

Electric lecture series Ignite Philly is all grown up. This time, organizers have nabbed Siobhan Reardon, Free Library president, and Gary Steuer, the city's chief cultural officer, for their lineup. Topics include music, sustainability, architecture and, um, dog park poop. It's nothing if not diverse.

Tue., Oct. 13, 6 p.m., $5 donation, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, ignitephilly.org.

(editorial@citypaper.net)

Brian James Kirk blogs at technicallyphilly.com.