Two weeks after the sky cast mounds of white flakes on the ground, the melting process is finally in earnest. Icicles, which have dangled perilously off the edges of roofs, are beginning to crash and the snow that painted rooftops white has slid off many houses. The streets themselves are now reasonably clear, if not due to plowing or salting, but due to the bright sun which shines its harsh light on the snow, causing it to liquefy and fade.

In contrast to the Blizzard of 1993, when the immense snowfall seemed to fade too quickly for its size, the more recent fallen snow persisted in a way to burn itself into my adult memory. My eyes had gotten so used to seeing the white stuff, that I was beginning to forget what the actual ground looked like. To be fair, I still rely on memory for that, as much of the snow still rests upon sidewalks, steps, and lawns that had never been introduced to shovels. The thaw is far from complete, but now the piles of snow are beginning to darken and shrink. The white power on the ground has become dimpled and wrinkled, and the trees drop their burdens of snow and swing their bare limbs in liberty.

Winter is undergoing contractions, as soon, spring will be born.

Exactly one week ago on Friday, February 12, 2010, I attended Video Games Live: Bonus Round at Heinz Hall. This was a follow-up engagement to the original Video Games Live event in July of last year. The cold air and the snow-covered sidewalks, marked a contrast to the warm summer night, and this time I dressed more formally out of warmth rather than out of fashion.

Unlike the last time, there were no representatives from MAGFest, which greatly reduced the festivity in the atmosphere. That is not to say, of course, that the crowd was anything but lively, or that there were no pre-show activities. However, in comparison to the prior engagement, there was less of an aura of celebration and general merriment than there was in the summer. Much of that, of course, could be attributed to the fact that this iteration of Video Games Live occurred in February on the same night the Pittsburgh Penguins had a home game.

Another detail I spotted were the sheets used by the orchestra to play the music. To be fair, it is possible that this was not a change from the last time, but I noticed that the music was spread out on twice folded sheets of three section. Previously, it seemed as though the music was in single sheet format, but it is possible that my remembrance of the previous event is foggy seven months later. In either case, if it were a change, it was one I enjoyed, even though I was not even playing.

The opening preview videos displayed on the viewscreen remained the same, with the exception to the Michael Jackson tribute, which was understandably absent. The standard opening to Video Games Live (which I neglected to mention in the previous entry) began with the orchestra playing orchestra hits in time to a video of Pong, which led to a medley of tunes from older video games, including that of Donkey Kong.

During the break that followed there was a costume contest. This time, there were fewer entrants in the costume contest than in the summer. Although the Katamari and Celes costumes were my personal favorites, a little boy dressed as Link won to the audience’s delight.

The selection of music in this Bonus Round was quite different from the last time and more tailored to my personal tastes. Given that I immensely enjoyed the previous from a musical perspective, this was a welcome surprise and allowed me to enjoy the music not merely from an appreciation point of view, but from the lens of a fan.

The first announced piece of music was Sonic the Hedgehog, an amazing opening. After this came music from Assassin’s Creed 2, with Laura Intravia as the guest vocalist. A short break followed with a competition between two members selected from the audience, a 15 year old male youth and a 21 year old young lady. Both of them were to play the first level of Frogger, with the person who scored the most points winning the competition. The orchestra would play along to the score of Frogger during the gameplay, with wonderful verbal interplay from the host Tommy Tallarico (this was worth the price of admission alone). Despite the dynamics, the orchestra did not miss a beat The young lady won, although both participants received prizes.

After this we were treated to the opening of Final Fantasy VIII, Liberi Fatali. Although Final Fantasy VIII is not the most popular game out of the series in the United States, I believe musically it is one of the stronger entries. I appreciate that music from a Final Fantasy title (aside from Final Fantasy VII’s One Winged Angel) was played by an entire orchestra.

Next came music from Shadow of the Colossus, then Bioshock, and Mass Effect. We were reminded before the Mass Effect segment that the conductor, Jack Wall, composed music for both Mass Effect and its recently released sequel. However, after these segments came. Laura Intravia was now wearing a Link costume with a winged sphere attached to represent Navi, and began the to perform “Flute Link” segment for which she was has become known across the Internet. After this was music from the orchestra performing various themes from Zelda there was a short intermission, which allowed me to stretch my legs.

After the intermission, the audience treated with music from StarCraft II (which at the time was not released). I do not know the track name, but it looked as though the subtitle was similar to “Revenge of the ????es.” Next we heard the familiar, but welcome medley of Super Mario Bros music.

After these selections came the Guitar Hero segment, with the pre-show Guitar Hero competition winner, Zach Fairfield, appearing on stage. His goal was to score 275,000 points on a new song, Jump from Van Halen, on Expert mode. As with Frogger, the orchestra played along with the song, and Tallarico engaging the crowd. He scored approximately 260,000 points, which was only slightly shy of the 275,000 points needed to win, but the crowd had become so excited in both the player’s performance and that of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, that this took little away from the moment. He was rewarded with his prize bag.

From this point the audience was treated to a segment of Halo ODST, the music from Halo, and of course One Winged Angel, originally from Final Fantasy VII (although this was the Advent Children re-arrangement). However, we were also able to listen to various themes from the Castlevania series, and next to last, music from the Mega Man series.

The show closed with the Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross Medley and FluteLink rejoined the stage. This time, the breaths between her notes seemed a little more noticeable, but her flute added to the presence of the dual guitars (of Tallarico and Wall), making this segment even more outstanding and amazing than it did the previous time.

In the end, I am very glad I attended Video Games Live: Bonus Round. Not only did the return engagement serve as a perfect complement to the previous engagement, but it was also enjoyable on its own merits. Seemingly small moments such as Tommy Tallarico bringing out his “Spider-Man” guitar or pointing out Antony Daniels in the crowd made it a greater experience than the last time. As a result, I do not suffer the nagging disappointment from being brought back to the real world. The first round in July taunted me with an earful of pure ecstasy, only for me to crash into despair after no longer hearing. The second round in February lifted me up, but this time, I believe I will ride on these winds of happiness through the icy, snow-ridden days ahead. The Bonus Round does what all sequels — be them of video games, movies, or novels — should do, which is to bring enough of the familiar to link the works, but raise the bar to surpass what has come prior to it.

I have been quiet about the recent snowfall that has engulfed Pittsburgh, even though it has personally affected me. Although I had opportunity to take pictures of the continued snow that rested on streets and sidewalks, I have decided not to save the moment in posterity. It will go down in history on its own. Aside from Snowmageddon, this will be known as the “Snow Week” for kids, a week when Pittsburgh Public Schools were cancelled.

However, as my memories of the Blizzard of 1993 indicate, these same students will rue their unscheduled freedom when the summer melts the icy memories of pleasure as they remain in hot classrooms with no air conditioning. It is also forgotten that while the Blizzard of 1993 brought more snow than the recent snows on Friday & Saturday and Tuesday & Wednesday, it did not incapacitate the city to this degree. In fact, it was school year of 1993-1994 that was comparable to this recent situation, with schools closed due an extended wave of extreme cold. Then I laughed at David Letterman’s mantra of “Too Damn Cold,” but as the school year was extended even longer, that amusement was a replaced with stifling heat in a building where I had to take tests and and receive instruction from patient instructors such as Mr. Harrison and Mrs. Berdnik. I loved to learn, but not nearly as much as I normally did because it was so terribly hot. I believe many Pittsburgh Public Schoolchildren will also have these memories, when the cold has ensured that the snow is not an ephemeral milestone, but a large white mark in history to stain the upcoming summer days.

I will say that I am surprised at how little I was able to take from this forced respite. I had initially believed that being stuck in the house would actually prove to be a cathartic experience, as it would force me to attend to matters I had long forgotten. Instead, it has only gotten me further behind in my personal projects. This is in part because the days were not spent in complete physical idleness. Instead, I had to shovel snow, and due to my inexperience with snow removal, this caused me to require more rest than I usually receive. While it is fortunate I was a position to perform my job duties from home, I missed my desk and the quietness it brought.

Save the snow shovel, save the world.