RPS@PAX 2023: Meet Bioshop Infinite, the barbershop quartet that's been a PAX fixture for nearly a decade
Featuring a surprise marriage proposal that I recorded by accident
There's a moment in BioShock Infinite's opening act that's always stuck with me. As you emerge onto the floating city of Columbia, the game takes you on a guided tour of the sights and sounds of this airbone civilization. As you saunter through the streets, you learn about its citizens and its creator, just sort of taking it all in. The sun is shining. You're surrounded by smiles. Before you know it, an airship rises above the clouds and perches next to a hugging couple, gently swaying in the summer breeze. Aboard the ship is a barbershop quartet, cheerfully harmonising the iconic Beach Boys tune God Only Knows. It's a memorable scene, and has become an integral part of the game's lasting iconography.
But for Tyler, Nick, Derek and Greg, this section was more than just a fun tease for the secret behind Columbia's unusual success. Self-confessed music school kids, the quartet inspired them to create their own musical group styled after Infinite's singing hairdressers. In 2023, BioShop Infinite celebrated their ninth year at PAX East, where they performed a wonderful collection of harmonised tunes to an absolutely packed community room - and we were there to film it.
After the show we caught up with them to discuss forming a barbershop quartet, PAX and their love for the game that started it all. By sheer coincidence, as I was recording the group perform one last song, I accidentally captured a marriage proposal that was occuring just to the edge of the frame. After we'd all dried our eyes (turns out that public displays of affection can be quite emotional when you're not expecting them) we discussed that too.
You can find out more about BioShop Infinite by following them on Twitter. You can also found out more about PAX by watching some of our other videos. Goodness me, we've made a lot. One about a Facebook community that meets up every year to take a group photo. What it's like to demo your game to the public for four days. This video of interesting (and weird) things we found on the show floor. Why not check out the dedicated RPS@PAX tag to see it all in one place? It's probably a bit easier.