Nintendo Fusion Tour

Written by Matt Swider on June 22, 2003

Nintendo Fusion Tour: Featuring: Evanescence, Cold, Revis, Cauterize, Finger Eleven, and a whole lot of gaming thanks to the Big N

That line between music and gaming becomes thinner with each passing year as the three largest players in the video game industry just keep on sponsoring tours for today's hottest musical acts. In addition to Sony sponsoring Ozzfest as well as the Warped Tour and Xbox heading up the return of Lollapalooza this year, Nintendo has jumped on the bandwagon with its own Fusion Tour starring two of rock's latest breakthrough bands: Evanescence and Cold. And, it wouldn't be a Nintendo sponsored event without some gaming related bits and pieces along the way.

The first opening band of the evening was Cauterize, a band that most people in the crowd might not be too familiar with in comparison to the groups to follow that night. However, their music still kicked things off pretty well and they managed to really get the crowed pumped despite being the fresh band on the bill. Having done their job, Cauterize finished off their set and left the main stage. On that note, Cauterize will conclude their touring duties on this sweep altogether very soon, as Finger Eleven will take over for the first show starting in September, the second leg of the Nintendo Fusion Tour.

After Cauterize had packed up their instruments and gone back stage, the first giveaway would begin. A Nintendo Fusion Tour employee, known to us only as MC Fusion, came out promising loads of free concert apparel and drawings throughout the evening, and to that extent, the concert was certainly not a failure. After every one of the bands played, more shirts were thrown into the mosh pit area from both the back of the venue and the front stage. But, the giveaway that stirred the crowd the most had to be the drawings for Nintendo GBA SPs signed by members of Evanescence. Since there were two to give away, a flood of people formed a line at the Nintendo Fusion Booth following the announcement of the first winner so they too could have a chance of scoring the second signed unit. These giveaways may have gotten the fans in attendance just as excited as hearing the opening bands perform live and surely got Nintendo and its gaming lineup tons of attention in the process.

Following the first set of toss up prizes, the second band on the ticket was ready to play. Revis hit the stage with authority and played most of the songs off of their debut album Places For Breathing. Among the many highlights of the set, songs like "Spin and Seven" really showed that Revis will one day be a headliner of their own tour. After closing with their biggest song to date, "Caught In The Rain," which is hot off the Daredevil soundtrack, Revis exited stage right and more gaming related giveaways ensued.

These giveaways weren't the only gaming likeness on hand at the Nintendo Fusion Tour, where both video game fans and music lovers could check out the company's liveliest lineup of titles for Game Boy Advance and GameCube. Walking around the venue was a team of Nintendo employees wearing multiple GBA SP units on either their belts or their vests. Also, depending on the venue size each night, GameCube kiosks would also be setup to showcase what the smallest console on the market could do. Despite a sellout crowd, most people at the Fusion Tour made sure they got a taste of Nintendo, whether it was playtesting every game available or simply watching the big-screen video reel broadcasting both existing and upcoming games from Nintendo and an assortment of publishers.

Now, the show was starting to get somewhere and, being on the floor, you could feel the mass of fans getting excited as the first of two huge rock acts would be coming to the stage at any minute. That act, of course, was Cold, a band that already rocked Midway's booth during E3 in May and has contributed a song to the publisher's upcoming multi-console game, ESPionage. Before you knew it, they were at it again, out causing everyone to scream and form the beginning of a mini-mosh pit that split up many a party. Cold never broke from their music and steadily turned out quality performance one after another. They too closed with their biggest current hit, "Stupid Girl," throwing picks and drum sticks into the crowd. One more band to go, and all that was still standing in the way was the set up.

After getting resettled after the moshing and the attempts to crowd surf, the fans were ready to hear the tour headliner. Of course, you can't have an effect on the crowd with the lights on, so just when everyone was least expecting it, the band started playing with the arena lights still on. But, even more odd was that no one could see them. Quickly there after the lights were down and Evanescence emerged from behind the curtain, already playing the new single "Going Under." Needless to say, the screams rivaled any sound a jetliner could produce during takeoff, but as the set went on, the sounds only seemed to get louder.

Amy Lee (lead vocals) and Ben Moody (lead guitar) played the focal roles in that regard, but it didn't seem to matter who it was to the fans, as long as the music was going, they'd keep up with every word. After about four songs, the constant singing of the audience forced Lee to ask us in the crowd if her monitors were facing us, or if we all actually knew every lyric to their music, calling the fans "Some of the best she's ever seen." Standard rock fare? Yeah, but it must be said that there were more people singing along at this concert than at any we've attended. This was most exemplary during the band's performance of its breakthrough hit "Bring Me To Life," in which Amy's voice was almost drowned out by the audience. This song was a fitting cap to the night, which ended with an untamed amount of feedback praising Evanescence, the other bands on the bill, and Nintendo for bringing them together.

The Nintendo Fusion Tour is no where near over, as new dates are being added to the line up on an almost weekly basis. Plus, with the addition of another well known band, Finger Eleven, the shows should only get better. If Nintendo feels like they need to so that they can topple tours sponsored by Sony and Xbox, all they need to do is get on the phone with their current line-up and plan Fusion Part Two. For now, the ongoing tour is an amazing experience whether you're a Nintendo devotee, music enthusiast, or a blend of both. All you need is a date and location in close proximity to see four of the best band live while learning more about the greatest games being offered thanks to Nintendo.