Live Review: Boss Fight

The Brightside has shown real savvy in jumping onboard the Pokémon Go hype train, hosting its second Social Club pub crawl in as many months, ready to receive punters as the final stop on the journey after a night of bar-hopping chasing PokéStops and elusive Pokémon (and cocktails).

Headlining a phenomenal night of rare catches and drunken adventures, Brisbane band Boss Fight took to venue’s stage to delight fans with a whole range of nostalgic themes and songs from many an attendees’ childhood. As the band prepare to kick off their set, many wonder what the night will hold, until suddenly the lilting notes of the theme to popular ‘90s game The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time transport the crowd away to ancient Hyrule, a land of adventure and childlike wonder. It goes without saying that the local five-piece are the connoisseurs of video-game tributes and covers; the saga goes on for five minutes or more, the crowd whooping and dancing along as the 8-bit fantasy comes to life on stage.

The band takes a certain creative liberty with the scores, prolonging what you might hear on the loading screen of your favourite childhood game into songs that pour on for what might seem like decades. Their repertoire includes old-time favourites Snow Bros and even Sonic The Hedgehog while, to the delight of Poké fans, they even tell their tale of old-school Pokémon: Red & Blue; the energy is high as the audience, many of whom have dressed in costumes for the event, run around and jump to the enchanting notes that fill the room.

That’s not to say that Boss Fight are a band with one trick; if you weren’t a child that delighted in wasting away days in front of your Nintendo or Dreamcast, there’s something for the younger set. The crowd screams with delight as they announce their take on the music of modern game monster, Skyrim. The band takes a minute at the end of this score to announce that they wish more bands engaged their fans as much as they have: surely, the band has stopped at no limits to check everyone is having a good time, and the banter between them runs high as they launch straight into one of a personal childhood favourite: Star Fox. Without hesitation they transform the tune into one most are familiar with — Tetris. This writer never knew you could dance to Tetris, yet here we are.

Bringing back a modern twist, comic book-turned-movie score Scott Pilgrim Vs The World starts to sound, and the members of the crowd seem to be collectively losing their minds. There are body limbs shaking everywhere, drinks splashing, and off-key words being sung in an unidentifiable pattern.

To top the night off, the band announce their final song, and delight us all (for the umpteenth time this night) to their take on themes from Super Mario Bros. The song transforms in three parts; first Yoshi’s Island, transforming into Bowser’s Castle and, lastly, settling onto something whose title escapes this writer, but nonetheless sticks out as a fond memory from afternoons spent playing Super Nintendo after school. Well done, Boss Fight. Game on.