GregHowley.com

As the final part in my series of articles geeking out about the impending convention in Boston next week, I thought I'd talk about the big concerts on Saturday night, for which I'm very excited.

Video Game Orchestra

These guys are very good. Last year, this Asian chick was rocking out on a violin to the Final Fantasy theme, and the crowd was going crazy. Not the highlight of the evening, but still extremely entertaining.

Paul and Storm

I've only ever seen Paul and Storm as openers for Jonathan Coulton, but I've seen them twice now already and they're very entertaining. In a similar way to The Bobs, they're as much stand-up comics as they are musicians. And their "X is my Y cover band" joke has some serious legs. Join me on Google Plus if you don't know what I mean. The joke is ubiquituous.

Jonathan Coulton

Coulton is probably why most people are headed to the concert. Amongst the geek crowd, Re: Your Brains and Code Monkey are practically anthems. But those songs aren't really my favorites. My favorite song of his may actually be Future Soon, about an awkward kid, picked on in school, who daydreams about the future when he'll build an orbital science lab from which he'll mastermind his conquest of the planet Earth. I also love I'm Your Moon, which is about Pluto and its demotion from planet status. Other favorites include Ikea, Mandelbrot Set, and Big Bad World One.

I don't yet have Coulton's latest album, but I have a feeling I'll buy it next week in Boston. Maybe I'll get it signed.

MC Frontalot

I can't say that I'm into all nerdcore music. MC Chris has one or two good songs, (most notably Fett's Vette) but I'm more of a Frontalot fan than I am a nerdcore fan.

I've never yet seen MC Frontalot in concert, although I've seen him close up at last year's PAXE, manning his own merch booth. Maybe I'll get a picture this year.

My favorite Frontalot songs are Braggadocio and Final Boss, which I hope he plays at the show. I'll Form The Head, about Voltron, is probably the best song from his newest album, although he probably won't sing that one since it's done on the album with a few other MCs. Ditto Captains of Industry, which he sings with MC Lars.