Get ready to nerd out: mc chris and friends are on their way to the Grog Shop
A night of nerdcore is coming to the Grog Shop on Aug. 16, with mc chris, Powerglove and Richie Branson set to take the stage.
mc chris may have the voice of a 10-year-old, but the geek rapper has an incredible knack for making humorous tongue-in-cheek odes to Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, jerking off to Britney Spears, robots, weed and Robotussin. The Chicago rapper is also recognizable to Adult Swim fans for his countless voice and animation contributions to shows including Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
A few weeks ago, mc chris caught A TON of flack for kicking a fan out of a show for tweeting a negative remark about the opening act, but mc made a pretty damn heartfelt apology after the fact, so cut him some slack for being a passionate human. Besides, some of the tour’s proceeds are going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which mc chris is fighting in the name of his nephew, father and recently deceased Beastie Boy Adam Youch.
On the other end of the musical spectrum is Powerglove: a four-piece power-metal outfit based out of Boston. Any self-respecting video game geek should instantly recognize the reference to the infamous Power Glove controller released in 1989 for use with the NES. Powerglove’s music invites a complete nerdgasm for folks like myself as the virtually all-instrumental group combines heavy metal with geek pop culture.
The band covers video game theme songs in their first two albums, Total Pwnage and Metal Kombat for Mortal Men, while their second record, Saturday Morning Apocalypse, features cartoon-inspired covers. Most recently, Powerglove released TV Game Metal, which was released in Japan last month and features remixes and new recording of old material. My personal favorite songs include Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog and Zelda-themed musical medleys marked by blistering-fast drums, guitar and keyboards. The nostalgia of their X-Men, Pokemon, and Batman theme-song covers will make you wish you 10 years old again while the adult in you thrashes to the quintessential metal sound.
The group has been known to share the stage with plenty of other power metal bands, opening for Dragonforce during their 2008 tour and even played a few shows on last year’s Summer Slaughter Tour. If you’ve ever wondered how well 8-bit game tunes and 30-second cartoon themes can evolve into some of the most fun and uniquely inspired metal in the scene today, you have to check these guys out.
