Minibosses and Others Melt Faces and Blow Minds Masterfully

8BitSF held another show on June 1, except unlike the last one in March this one featured The Minibosses. As usual, crashfaster was part of the lineup and Matthew Joseph Payne kicked the night off. The night was a blast, despite the small venue, but it was well worth the $10 at the door.

Matthew Joesph Payne, as mentioned above, was the first act of the night; his fusion of vocals and chip elements with either banjo or electric guitar was great. He also kept us warmed up between songs with some nice humor, even saying he was no Danimal during his fourth song. Before the third song, he mentioned getting into an internet argument and wanting to wrestle someone. Which he did, playfully, with a couple of audience members, while some battle-like chip music played in the background. He also had us sing along during the fifth song, which was in 13/8. He was also selling download codes for his Bandcamp page, which I highly recommend checking out.

crashfaster came on next; it was their first show with a new singer, Keiko. They played a new song about halfway through their set in commemoration of their inclusion on the upcoming Chiptunes=WIN compilation, releasing Monday. They also played a few songs that I’d heard at the March GDC show along with others. The last song was a cover, and small mosh pit of four or five people formed during it; Matthew Joseph Payne ran from the back of the room to the front just to join it. All in all, a good set. They’ll be playing at the DNA Lounge in July, so keep an eye out for that.

Finally, the Minibosses took the stage. They started early purely for the purpose of playing more songs (and they still ended up playing later than they should have). They kicked the night off with Kid Icarus, and went right into requests after the lengthy track. It is interesting to note that they played the Ducktales theme song on four separate occasions during the night, something Disasterpeace noted on Twitter after the show. Naturally, I also sang the entire theme song each time. Between the Ducktales reprises, they played favorites such as Punch-Out, Castlevania 2, and Mega Man 2. A mosh pit formed during the Mega Man track, and another even bigger one during Contra, which followed after Ducktales. Zelda was immediately after, which created yet another even larger mosh pit during the Temple section. The final song was Metroid, which had a mosh pit so large it almost knocked several folks (myself included) over due to spreading out.

After the show, they brought out the CDs and shirts for sale, and those who weren’t buying anything had to leave because it was afterhours. All in all, it was a phenomenal show and one that I had a blast at. I’m sure all who went did as well, seeing as it was probably impossible not to. If there’s another show, which there invariably will be, I’ll be sure to go, and you can be sure to read about it in a summary such as this one not too long afterwards. Until next time, game on!

Or would rock on be more appropriate here?

ThaSauce Giveaway Extravaganza!: Winner Announced for Minibosses Bay Area Tour


Remember our Minibosses ticket giveaway that we announced last week? A hearty congratulations to Mayene de Leon for winning our giveaway for the Minibosses show on June 1st at Hemlock Tavern! We are truly excited for you to experience the Minibosses live, so please be sure to look out for our e-mail for the following instructions on admission for this Friday. Thank you again!

Be sure to check out other giveaways coming at you very soon happening all over the country, here at ThaSauce!

ThaSauce Giveaway Extravaganza!: Minibosses 2012 Bay Area Tour


Are you a fan of the Minibosses like we are? Do you happen to live in the San Francisco area (or have the immediate means to travel there)? If you’ve answered a hearty ‘yes’ to both questions, we’d like to proudly announce the first official ThaSauce giveaway for the Minibosses 2012 Bay Area Tour! That’s right, you have a chance to win a pair of tickets for each of the following shows:

Friday, June 1 – Minibosses + crashfaster + Matthew Joseph Payne @ Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco, 9pm, ages 21+ (Winners must be 21+ and bring ID)
Saturday, June 2 – Minibosses + more @ Catalyst Atrium in Santa Cruz, 8pm, ages 16+ (Winners must be 16+ and bring ID)

And guess what? Entering the giveaway is a breeze. All you have to do to be eligible to win is 1) like our Facebook page and 2) tell us what your favorite Minibosses song is or an interesting Minibosses show experience and what day you are planning to attend on our status post. You may choose to enter for both days, yet only ONE entry per person for each day will be permitted. The giveaway will end Wednesday, May 30th, with winners will be chosen through a randomized number generator and announced by the same day.  The winners will be contacted and must bring IDs to claim their tickets at the door of each event. Good luck!

** Special thanks to the folks over at Rockage: San Jose for making all of this possible!

Dates Announced for Minibosses 2012 Bay Area Tour

Calling all Bay Area residents, the Minibosses are comin’ at you fast this June! With a broad range of instrumental covers of 8-bit NES songs, the Minibosses will rip into your soul with hard-hitting video game metal. Even still, the Minibosses tend to effectively reconstruct all your old favorites into something every gamer will recognize and enjoy which makes it easy to see why the reality of this band’s popularity is made quite apparent (check out their latest release Brass 2: Mouth if you haven’t). And let’s not get into stage presence. Wait, we will. Being at a Minibosses show can easily be one of the best live performances of your life, simply because these dudes just get it. Claiming total ownership over the crowd with the ways they can easily excite fans by playing a specific Castlevania theme throughout the night just to mess around, the Minibosses are sure to please anyone who has picked up a NES controller.

The Minibosses will embark on what they call a mini-tour, travelling through various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area with their instruments in tow. Peep the dates and locations below:

FRIDAY June 1st, 2012 – Subzero Fest in San Jose
FRIDAY June 1st, 2012 –  Hemlock Tav in San Francisco
SATURDAY June 2nd, 2012 – Ocean Beach Studio in San Francisco
SATURDAY June 2nd, 2012 – Catalyst in San Jose
SUNDAY June 3rd, 2012 – Streetlight Records in San Jose

Ticket links and other information will be coming soon, so be sure to check back here or the Minibosses Facebook page for more updates.

Quick Look: Minibosses Perform “Double Dragon” & “Dr. Mario” in 3D


Since 2000, Minibosses has been making huge headway within the VGM scene for their innovative covers, dynamic instrumentation, and an overall awesome presence when performing on-stage. While many would consider these guys a progressive rock band, the Minibosses have continuously pushed the limits of video game music covers (with an award to show for it!). Today’s Quick Look features the Minibosses performing their fantastic interpretation of “Double Dragon” and “Dr. Mario” at this year’s MAGFest X. If you’re feeling naughty, you can download this video and watch it in 3D for the cool effects. If not, well… this video is great all the same.  Peep more of the Minibosses’ eclectic sounds on Bandcamp.