This begins familiarly enough, but yeah, after Shane Barber (aka Rush Coil) gets done with the first minute or so of Sonic the Hedgehog's first-stage music, the lightning strikes. Watch him take control of one of gaming's most iconic chiptunes and make it greater than the sum of its parts.

He's got some backing tracks to help out (explained in the notes on YouTube). The 1:30 mark is where the jamming really begins. The lighting and the utterly un-self-conscious rocking-out (with several glasses adjustments) complete the picture. In case you're thinking about giving Barber shit for rocking a keytar, just stop right there. Someone already tried in the YouTube comments and he came back with a reply as pitch-perfect as his session here:

I once ran into this guy Michael Angelo Batali who plays a guitar with four necks. I asked him if people gave him shit about how ridiculous it seems. He said, "I'm an entertainer. Some people think it is cool and some people think it is a joke and ridicule me the whole show. But either way, their asses stayed in their seats until the show was over and both groups leave with a story to tell. That's entertainment. Doesn't matter if they love you or think you are a joke. If they stay the whole show and leave with a smile, you did your job."



I stayed in my seat the whole time, Shane. I even clapped along. Hell yes, you did your job.