Gaming Stuff To Do This Weekend

Want to spend the entire Memorial Day weekend on your couch playing video games, but also don't want to be a hermit? Well, that's quite a pickle. Luckily there are videogame events going on around town that might quench your insatiable thirst for digital entertainment. The Red Bull Battlegrounds Pro Gaming Tournament and 8-Bitchin show have you covered.

If you got a taste for watching the world's best gamers go head to head at this past SXSW Screenburn then Battlegrounds will likely be a perfect fit. Seriously, you can spend 20 hours of your weekend spectating as the hardest hardcore players out-strategize one another playing StarCraft II. If you're not sure who to root for, Austin has a player in the mix who goes by the name of viOLet. If you're not sure who's winning, you might be in the wrong place. Expect big screens, big personalities giving the play-by-play (not sure if that's good or bad), and – if you're a fan of StarCraft – some big excitement. The audio/visual overload takes place all this weekend (1-11pm) at ACL Live, 310 W. Willie Nelson Blvd., and will run you between $10 and $20, depending on how close you want to be. If you want some distance from the live action you can stay home and watch the live stream from the safety of your abode.

If you prefer your sensory bombardment with more of a retro leaning, then the 8-Bitchin' show, Sunday night at the Parish might be more your speed. Viral sensation Brentalfloss – with the help of his backing band, the Cartridge Family – puts words to instrumental game tracks to a fast-paced, comedic end. Try and keep up, won't you? Philadelphia's DJ CUTMAN brings his chiptune mixes that end up more funky than the usual spazz outs associated with the genre. We recommend stretching so you don't throw out your neck due to rhythmic head nods. If you are, in fact, looking to spazz out, local instrumental savants, Descendants of Erdrick open things up with their live versions of vintage game soundtracks cuts. If you're not too busy pogo-ing you will likely be marveling at the skill and sheer velocity of the notes being produced. Tickets are $18 at the door.