Science that Totally Rocks

After the disappointment of Friday night’s parties, and the double-fun of the Firefly and Battlestar Galactica parties on Saturday night, this reporter ventured out once more on Sunday night and was absolutely, positively, geekily blown away.

Arcattack were the fantabulous headliners at the Mad Scientist ball in Regency V. Between sets, the room was emptied, and a new crowd of technology worshiping fans filed in. The anticipation as we all waited for the set to start was palpable; the crowd huddled as close to the instruments as they could squeeze. Luckily, to make the time fly by, we had the opportunity to purchase some cool gear at the shop including T-shirts and cards games where, I kid you not, slugs take over the world.

On with the show. Arcattack is made up of two Tesla coils, which are giant voltage-producing coils that shoot glowing sparks of lightening into the air. The frequency of the bolts can be modified, thus a scientific experiment transforms into one rockingly cool instrument of musical nerdvana. Computer controlled drums lay down the rhythm track, while a giant screen of visualizations added some eye candy to the equation. The host of the evening, wearing an imposing warrior suit and helmet, hyped the onlookers into a frenzy. Occasionally, he raised his handmade staff close to the coils and the sparks jumped into the weapon, lighting the neon light bulb attached inside.

Rock on, dude. Rock on!

This reporter was all a-glow, literally and figuratively, as I danced beneath the black lights and swayed to the music. If you’ve never seen the Tesla coils before, you simply must, MUST check them out.

For more information on the band, go to www.arcattack.com.

Author of the article

When Suzanne Church isn't chasing characters through other realms, she's hanging with her two children. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, On Spec, and Cicada and in several anthologies including Urban Green Man and When the Hero Comes Home 2. Her collection Elements: A Collection of Speculative Fiction is due out in spring 2014 from EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. She is a three time finalist and 2012 winner of the Prix Aurora Award in the Short Fiction category.