Each year, PAX hosts a number of game-related concerts on the first two nights of the convention. The Minibosses are a PAX staple, having headlined a night of shows nearly every year the event has taken place.

I’m a huge fan of the band, and have bugged them enough every year that they know me now, so they let me backstage to watch their show this year and take some photos.

The concert was fantastic, whether you’re a fan of the band or not. They played instantly-recognizable songs from games everyone knows, like the Mario and Castlevania series, Mega Man 2, Kid Icarus, Excitebike (about ten times), and other NES classics.

They showed off a couple songs from their new album (pre-order here!); “Mario 3″ being the highlight — in my opinion — of the concert. You can watch them play that song in the video embedded below.

The Minibosses don’t play a lot of shows outside Arizona and California, besides usually going to PAX, Defcon and MAGFest, but if you’ve ever got a chance to see them play make sure you do.