A player stood in concentration in front of the massive screen as the first Super Smash Bros. match of the tournament got underway on August 13 at The Faight, a creative space located on Haight Street near Fillmore. Clad in a Pac-Man shirt, Christopher Cruz—competing under the alias “Pastor”—eschewed the front-row couches reserved for competitors in favor of staying on his feet. Behind him, an endearingly earnest crowd leaned in. This wasn’t just a gaming session; it was a spectator sport, complete with live commentary and a jazz quartet providing a real-time score.
One of the driving forces behind the room’s electric energy was The Faight’s Jesse Orlando, who emceed the evening with the cadence of a heavyweight boxing announcer. Armed with comedic timing and a barrage of quirky gamer tags, Orlando narrated the on-screen action. “We’re gonna smash!” he declared, right before the opening bracket.
“There’s definitely an untapped community of gamers in San Francisco,” Orlando explained to 48hills. He noted that while gaming tournaments already exist in the city, they are usually held in “plain rooms or just like, on a bunch of screens.” Hosting the bracket at The Faight—which also opens its doors to concerts, magazine launches, dating-themed scavenger hunts, and more—he added, is “a cool way to make it feel homey and vibe-y, like the retro gaming experience”.
But what elevates this neighborhood tournament is its live accompaniment. As the crowd whooped, the house band—affectionately dubbed the “Smash-holes,” and featuring Josh Yi on drums, Tommy Wong on saxophone, Cobey Gong on bass, and Shang-Yu Hsu on keys—kicked into a syncopated, distinctly modern arrangement of the original Nintendo theme.
Hsu served as the musical backbone of the performance. Playing on a standard keyboard, he used patches that perfectly mirrored the game’s nostalgic, synth-heavy auditory blueprint, looking entirely relaxed while ripping through complex finger work. Wong’s saxophone acted as the catalyst that pulled those pristine, 8-bit melodies into much jazzier territory. At times, their interpretation captured the exact essence of the original tracks; at others, it morphed into a freewheeling composition, brimming with solos.
Perhaps the most infectious element of the night was the musicians’ evident glee. The Smash-holes were visibly having a great time, radiating a loose, positive energy that spilled over into the audience. Yi beamed behind the kit throughout the set, locking into deep pockets and navigating the erratic, fast-paced tempo changes of the game’s battle music with a smile on his face. Their sheer joy of playing such a zany, high-energy concept was palpable, proving that serious musicianship doesn’t have to take itself too seriously.
The true brilliance of the Smash-holes, however, was their active participation in the room’s tension. They weren’t merely background accompaniment. At times, the musicians half-watched the screen, reacting to the gameplay as it happened. In moments of sudden-death suspense, the band would hold out on ending a song, resolving at the exact time the game declared a winner—a charming feat of live scoring.
“We’re trying to interact with what we see on the screen,” Yi said. He explained that the musicians actively try to sync up their crescendos with hits in the game, to make the set “more interactive, and more fun.” Impressively, Yi revealed that Hsu transcribed all of the night’s complex musical arrangements completely by ear in a single night.
The holistic sensory vibe only amplified the delightfully nerdy energy of the room. While eyes were largely glued to the tournament, the visual atmosphere of The Faight collective was accented by striking art wrapped across the walls courtesy of artist _feelings1996, cementing the venue as a genuine hub for mixed media.
Competitors were fully dialed in right out of the gate, fighting hard simply for the pride of the bracket and the sheer thrill of the game. Orlando enthusiastically reminded the players of the grand prizes: a Faight bar tab and the ultimate, comical honor of signing the “golden smash brick.”
Gung-ho players were exactly what organizers anticipated. As Orlando observed, “with these tournament style events, people come to lock in. So it’s a lot more of Red Bull, and coffee, and caffeine because people want to win.” Even spectators were deeply invested; audience member Justin Bitanga praised the event’s “cozy vibes,” but jokingly pointed out that the band was occasionally “playing wrong music for the levels.” Bitanga enthusiastically mentioned that he would love to hear a live band play the main theme from Diddy Kong Racing.
By the end of the night, the player who had been standing on business in round one claimed the ultimate victory, with Cruz battling his way through the bracket to earn his champion’s medal.
For those wanting to catch the next installment… keep an eye out. The tournament is a sporadic, recurring series at the venue.
While there isn’t a current listing for the next tournament, you can find dates for future Super Smash Bros. showdowns—and all other events at The Faight—here and on its Instagram.
