Harmonix celebrate Guitar Hero II
By RYAN STEWART | November 27, 2006
Helen McWilliams of Vagiant |
“I’m so nervous!” Harmonix public-relations queen/Vagiant frontwoman Helen McWilliams exclaimed while smoking a cigarette in front of the building before her band’s set at the Guitar Hero II party at the Middle East a week ago Saturday night. If she really was battling jitters, though, it didn’t show. Vagiant (rhymes with “The Bryant”) played a blend of grrrl punk and metal that harked back to the days when L7 and Babes in Toyland were alt-nation mainstagers. By the time they had blown through a set that included a guest appearance by Guitar Hero II programmer James Fleming during a cover of Danzig’s “Mother,” they’d established themselves as one of the breakout stars of the evening.Harmonix, for those who don’t know, are the Cambridge-based game developers responsible for the stellar Guitar Hero franchise. Each of the seven bands on the bill Saturday featured at least one Harmonix employee, and each band had a song that appeared as a bonus track on GHII. Anarchy Club and That Handsome Devil paid tribute with covers of “Killing in the Name” and “Search and Destroy,” respectively, two songs from the GHII track list. Honest Bob and the Factory to Dealer Incentives played “Head like a Hole” reimagined as a pop-punk number; the Acro-Brats brought out Konks front guy (and recent Harmonix hire) Yukki Gipe for a version of “X Fire,” a tune by his old band Bullet LaVolta. But the real “guitar heroes” were Bang Camaro, whose three ax men couldn’t go less than five seconds without hoisting a guitar neck or making a rock grimace. Their set felt a little truncated, and it seemed as if the revelers at this private party had mostly cleared out. Of course, a GHII set-up had by that point been installed in the Middle East corner upstairs — why watch Megasus do “Red Lottery” when you and a friend can tag-team it yourself? “Cherry Pie” ended up making a great soundtrack for the patrons filing out.
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