Are You Ready To ROCK (Competitively)?

A few weeks ago, I drove past one of the biggest hole-in-the-wall bowling alleys you could ever imagine. Normally, I’d pass it without a second thought, but something caught my eye:  “Rock Band Competition.” I did a double-take. Curiosity got the best of me, and I researched the event. It was a bona-fide Rock Band rock-out. I couldn’t believe it. If it had caught on in a dive like that, then I could only imagine the extent of this phenomenon. Therefore, it came as no surprise to learn that Rock Band was “touring.”

This summer, chances are a Rock Band competition will be coming to your town. Harmonix and MTV Games have teamed up to bring us the most interactive rock tour to ever sweep the nation. The best part about it? You could be the headlining act. Just when you thought all of your gaming nerdery automatically made you exempt from ever becoming something “cool” like a rock star, you can finally have the best of both worlds!

Much like that aforementioned bowling alley, the tour is popping up in the least likely of places. Just when you thought pie-eating contests were all State Fairs had to offer you, now you can jam to Black Sabbath amidst a bevy of barnyard animals. Energizer, Stride Gum, and Hot Topic are sponsoring, and they have gone to great lengths to make sure players can get the most genuine concert experience possible, complete with a stage, over-the-top lighting, and an eardrum-shattering sound system.

Rock Band will also be rubbing elbows with some real rock bands, hitting the road this month with Crüe Fest and Vans Warped Tour. At Crüe Fest, players compete to become the opening act for this show, featuring (you guessed it) Motley Crüe, who recently released a single on Rock Band and in music stores simultaneously. At Warped Tour, 20^th Century Fox is using Rock Band competitions to promote their upcoming comedy The Rocker, which aptly features the game in one of its scenes.

For the “tamer” rock stars out there, don’t worry! This tour won’t pass you by! When you’re attending a Jimmy Buffett concert this summer, you can get your Rock Band fix, too…in a golf cart, of all places. Yes, a golf cart. How that would be a “rock star” experience to any capacity is beyond me, but it’s certainly one that you don’t get to have every day.

It’s unlikely that winning any of these competitions will make you the next Brett Michaels, but I can think of no better way to spend a summer night than screaming into a microphone or pretending to play a guitar. This tour adds a change of pace to some summer events in need of tune-up, and will likely strike a chord with loyal followers of the game, hooking a few more “groupies” in the process.