MAGWest 2019

MAGWest joins forces with BAR Con, San Jose (and now LA's) preeminent event where gaming and Japanese culture come together, now during a convention! Featuring the music of 5 different bands:

-Alice Knows Karate is the brainchild of San Francisco native Keiko Takamura. After performing as vocalist in her previous group Crashfaster, the songwriter went on to create a new sound. Drawing her lyrical inspiration from indie video games, fairy tales, and her own life experiences, working with producers to build the music around vocal tracks she wrote and recorded herself, the Fablewave EP delves into an ambient, dream-like synth pop soundscape.

-Dokoe is A 3-piece mathrock/postrock band from San Jose, CA, bringing the fusion of American mathrock and Japanese postrock. Dokoe blends both genres and cultures together to create dynamic melodies that have a hint of sentimental nostalgia to upbeat compositions.

-Odyssey Eurobeat (a.k.a "Ken Blast" from the Initial D game and anime soundtracks and the Super Eurobeat series, alongside many other aliases) has been making eurobeat for the better part of a decade. After falling in love with the goofy but energetic and beloved style through rhythm games, Travis began attempting to recreate those sounds with his own work, starting with a borrowed Korg sound module and abandonware MIDI sequencing software. From there he's elevated the beloved sound to new audiences and spotlights, from appearing in arcade game and anime soundtracks such as Initial D to mentions in Rolling Stone and collaborations with/remixes from such acts as Andromulus and The Living Tombstone. Odyssey blends established eurobeat traditions with modern innovation to create an incredibly energetic and fun new experience with each song- even more so in live shows, delivering vocals with traditional DJ performances and elements of controllerism. There is no set quite like an Odyssey Eurobeat set! And appearing for one night only, two local synthwave giants are combining forces on the Planes of Destiny to put on a show of epic proportions.

San Jose's Vector Hold and Oakland's B/I/R/T/H/D/A/Y, together as one band, with a blistering show running the gamut of synthwave, VGM, hard-hitting shred, plus some extra special surprises...

-Vector Hold is no stranger to the synthwave scene. With six albums released since 2012 and countless singles. VH provided music to HBO's Vice Principals and countless mobile game apps. Supporting national touring acts such as Carpenter Brut, Dance With The Dead, Gost, and Chromeo there doesn't seem to be any slowing down for this pioneer of the synthwave movement. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area Pete Rice has been a prominent long time musician who's been in several music projects spanning three decades. Alongside with silent music partner Dave Stoltenberg on guitar he adds that special sauce that's needed to perfect the desired authentic 80's sound.

-B/I/R/T/H/D/A/Y. is a Progressive Synthwave trio from Oakland, CA, seamlessly meshing the sounds of the past, present, and future into an original take on nostalgia-fueled music. Since their inception, B/I/R/T/H/D/A/Y has played numerous shows and events, ranging from local dives and clubs, to Bar Con San Jose, MAGWest 2018, and San Francisco's heralded Turbo Drive synthwave event.

If you enjoy the show, check out BAR Con on Facebook for regular events in San Jose and Los Angeles the first Friday of every month.