'Guitar Hero' Chad Casket (left) slays his competition in the semi-finals / Photo by Muhammad Asranur

The 'Guitar Hero: Aerosmith ROCKS the Hard Rock' contest returned to California last night (Aug. 12) for the last of 15 dates before winners selected at tournaments nationwide travel to Boston for a final showdown. Devout gamers took over San Francisco's Hard Rock Cafe and battled intently, much to the bewilderment of diners munching on ribs and burgers.

Fierce-faced contestants in San Francisco and the tour's other stops are competing for a chance to win a Stephen Tyler / Hard Rock Café / Guitar Hero custom-designed Red Wing Motorcycle. The four top scorers from the entire tour will head to Beantown later this month to compete for the stylish bike.

By the semi-final round, the Hard Rock's floor had cleared out and only a few dozen Guitar Hero devotees were left rooting for their favorite player. As the points racked up and the note streaks topped 900, tensions rose and players jittered with nervy body movements.

All eyes hit the screen for the finals. Even Jerry Garcia's painted face, pained on a far wall, seemed to be staring in anticipation. The closing battle raged back and forth to the tune of Aerosmith's "Train Kept A Rollin." Chad Casket, who flew in from Arkansas to compete, ended the competition on top, taking home a Stephen Tyler-autographed Les Paul controller and a spot at the Boston finals. As a show of prowess, Casket took one more turn alone simply to beat the world-record score for Aerosmith's "Nobody's Fault." And he did, narrowly outscoring the previous mark by a little over 2,000 points.

Check out pictures from last night on page 2.