Houston-based electronic duo The Radio Broadcast brings its Mario Kart 64 U.S. Tour to the Hi Tone Sunday, December 29th.
The electroclash group, made up of couple Kristin and Michael Heilman, incorporates video game styles into their eclectic sound, sometimes using actual Nintendo Game Boys to do so. They also typically integrate video game play at their local shows, so when they decided to embark on this tour, they thought that hosting a Mario Kart competition seemed like the perfect idea.
“With us doing a tour, we figured, ‘Well, let’s try to do something a little bit bigger,'” says Michael. “A game that everybody definitely enjoys is Mario Kart. We usually do some kind of video game competition, but we’ve never brought a Nintendo 64 out before. So we thought, going from city to city, that this is like a Mario Kart circuit on its own. So we refined everything and came up with the idea to make it a little competition.”
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During the competition, guests will be invited to play four Mario Kart races per round. The number of rounds that can be played are unlimited, and whoever earns the most points by the end of the show will have the opportunity to receive special prizes, like a 2020 Mario calendar, Nintendo mints and candies, figurines, and more. The event winner will also be put into a list of finalists from the entire tour for a chance to win the grand prize: a Nintendo 64 game console with an original copy of Mario Kart 64.
Michael says there is no prerequisite to join in on the tournament.
“The main requirement to play is to just have fun,” he says. “We want this to be fun for everybody.”
Mario Kart 64 U.S. TOUR, Hi Tone, Sunday December 29th, 9 p.m., $7.