The Tacoma Dome – Wooden Wonder Meets a Mass of Metal

At 530 feet in diameter and 152 feet tall, the Tacoma Dome is one of the world’s largest wooden domed structures. For the past 25 years, it has been the hub of entertainment in the city, with events ranging from music concerts to freestyle motocross taking place here. Yet the Dome’s management team started to feel the pinch of competition coming from Key Arena in Seattle, White River Amphitheater in Auburn and Everett Event Center.

When you watch a performance of Video Games Live, the touring orchestral show of music from video games, now in its third season, you get a bit of a history lesson. “They start out with the real classics, like Donkey Kong and Tetris, some of which had only two or three colors in the entire game,” says Heath Marrinan, LD for Video Games Live. “As it goes through the night, the lighting begins to blend more with the video. We choose color schemes that reflect those of the games themselves, and the cues follow the dynamics of the music and the action on the screen. It can be sweepy and soft as you watch a guy cruising in an airplane on screen; then he jumps out and starts shooting a machine gun. I’ve never lit a symphony orchestra shredding on Halo 3 before.”