The Game Grumps were not so grump for their first standing-room only outdoor show at the historic Stone Pony’s Summer Stage set.
The smell of brine and a late summer breeze greeted the throngs of Grumps enthusiasts at the August 24 comedy show for the hour and a half long stage performance. Those Grump fans were the costars of the show, both onstage and off.
The Game Grumps fans were a vivacious bunch, as they gathered with hoots and crowd waves while waiting an hour or two for the sun to set. The Summer Stage had some lighting rigged to entice the audience to cheer at certain punchlines, but it’s not as if they needed the cues.
From screams of “jump!” during the blindfolded fan’s Super Mario Bros. warmup to the resounding cheers of “GO! TOAD!” and “WA-LU-I-GU”, there was nary a moment where YouTube video game commentary duo Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson didn’t want you to be screaming your lungs out.
The show’s energy felt like a mix of a punk rock mosh pit with the tilt of 20-something video game nerds reveling at the concept of seeing their favorite video game commentators in the flesh. With around 4,000 fans in attendance, getting to the front of the stage wasn’t going to happen unless you’d been waiting at the venue’s gates at least 12 hours prior to the show’s start.
Arin is colloquially known as the duo’s resident “grump,” with Dan being the Southern Californian production’s softer, bushy-haired “not so grump.” The two played off this dynamic as they riled the crowd up with a big screen projected game of Super Mario 10 for the now-defunct Nintendo Wii U.
The show was set up to have two of the Mario Party characters (Peach and Yoshi) controlled by Dan and Arin, with the other two characters, Toad and Waluigi, having been played by members of either half of the audience. Audience members from both sides were called up to compete for their team’s placing in mini-games challenging memory, reaction time, and gaming skills.
With both men averaging around 30, their Super Mario fandom reaches down to the roots of what has made the mid-Millenial generation so into gaming culture. While Game Grumps Live: The Final Party was touted as being an all-ages show, it was clear that the Grumps knew their audience.
As the duo’s skit is to bring audience members onstage to play Mario Party, with the intention of pulling a bit behind so as to give the overall audience the “we won!” mentality, it didn’t take long for the Grumps fans to catch on to what the Grumps were cooking. As Arin made a decisive move to put the Toad side of the audience in a bad position, shouts of “F–K YOU ARIN” resounded into the Asbury Park shoreline.
It was all a light jab, as Dan took to the mic mid-show to coyly ask the audience if they were actually saying “THANK YOU, ARIN”. The “boo”s of the losing half’s displeasure were met with Arin’s joking that New Jersey was going to think we hated the Game Grumps, but Dan was all about it. A Jersey native himself, Dan joked that “Your Jersey hatred is like vitamins to me.”
The show was over as quickly as it had started. The Mario Party session ended with team Waluigi winning in a landslide over the second-place team Toad in a little over an hour. With fifteen minutes left for questions, audience members shuddered out their fandom queries for the YouTube gamers/commentators.
Fan questions ranged from, “Dan, are you a furry?” (yes) to “Arin, what’s your favorite 3D Zelda game?” (Wind Waker). Star Bomb, the Grumps’ gaming-centered rock band, may have some new music coming up, and some fan-favorite but long-abandoned video game shows may be revived. Arin’s yum-to-dump record is of one highway exit to the next, just in case you were wondering.
He’s the video game boy, and Arin was full of vigor as he hyped the audience up with cries of “oh COME ON!” and “maaann, just give me a BREAK!” Dan’s father of anecdotal gold was in attendance, but the gamer didn’t know about Jersey Mike’s Subs until he moved to SoCal. There were ASMR golf claps, and a tease performance of Starbomb’s rap song “The Hero of Rhyme.”
It was all acoustically mixed for an outdoor setting, but it must have been unbearably loud if you were next to the stage speakers. There were so many loud exclamations from those on stage that I found myself desperately craving a good set of earplugs (I tried plugging my ears, and just like at a rock show, I was able to hear the music and performers better).
The Game Grumps Live: The Final Party doesn’t sound like it’s going to truly be the Grumps’ last celebration, as the two alluded that they are interested in keeping this touring concept going. And with 4,000 adoring fans screaming your name as you play through a rousing game of Mario Party, why not?
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