Dear Friends The Music of Final Fantasy Atlanta
Hola loyal Hikikomori reader. Long time no see.
I had the pleasure of attending Dear Friends: The Music of Final Fantasy in Atlanta over the weekend and it was, as expected, outstanding.
I had never been to a game concert before, and I kinda expected my first would be in Tokyo rather than Atlanta, but that just goes to show how popular Final Fantasy (and video games) has become. It was kind of an odd experience to hear music that shaped much of my childhood come to life right before my eyes. If I could go back and tell my 11 year old self that in 15 years I would be listening to the 8-bit music being played by a real symphony I would never have believed it.
The crowd was an interesting mix to say the least. About 50% wore suits and looked like they had been to a symphony before, while the other half wore t-shirts and jeans. I'm not going to make fun of the guys who didn't dress up, but I will say this- Don't wear video game t-shirts to a symphony. Especially a video game symphony. That's kinda like wearing a band's shirt to the band's concert. It's just not done. Thankfully cosplaying was kept to a minimum. I only spotted 2 people dressed as characters (Rinoa and a White Mage if you must know).
The show started out with a great rendition of "Liberi Fatali" from Final Fantasy VIII, and while I'm not a fan of the game, the music is superb.
Next, the composer, Arnie Roth, explained that Nobuo Uematsu (the composer of the music) would not be there, but instead showed a video that Uematsu had taped. It was a little disappointing that he wasn't there, seeing as how he attended all of the other shows thus far.
Next up was "Zanarkand" from Final Fantasy X. Another of my least favorite Final Fantasies that happens to have one of my favorite soundtracks period. The arrangement was new, and I don't believe it's available on any of the import soundtracks. In fact, a lot of the arrangements were new. I hope Square-Enix decides to put out a cd of the concert so I can hear them again.
After "Zanarkand" was "Terra's Theme" from Final Fantasy VI. Finally, a Final Fantasy I like! The piece was beautiful but the CG that was shown on the video screens looked more than a little dated. I would have liked it much better if they had just shown some of Yoshitaka Amano's artwork. It's much more timeless than computer animation.
Next up was "Dear Friends" from Final Fantasy V and "Vamo'Alla Flamenco" from Final Fantasy IX. "Vamo'" was not really a favorite of mine before the concert, but this arrangement was something special. Much better than the game version.
They played "Love Grows" from Final Fantasy VIII before the intermission. After the intermission was the song that everyone was apparently waiting for - "Aeris's Theme" from Final Fantasy VII. The reaction from the crowd was more than a little startling. The first part of the song was drowned out by the screaming crowd. Two guys sitting near me were in tears at the end of the song. Apparently they still haven't gotten over Aeris's death.
The next two tracks "Not Alone" from Final Fantasy IX and "Ronfaure" from Final Fantasy XI, were kind of forgettable. The conductor introduced "Ronfaure" as a song that "some of you might be familiar with." I think I heard of a couple of boos when he mentioned it was from Final Fantasy XI. Not a fan favorite.
But the next piece, "Final Fantasy I-III Medley", more than made up for it. Going into the concert, I was most looking forward to this medley and I was not disappointed. If you want to hear it for yourself, the same arrangement can be found on the Final Fantasy 20020220 Concert CD.
After that was the "Final Fantasy theme" that is in many of the games. Another favorite of mine as well.
What followed was definitely the highlight of the evening. For the encore the symphony played "One Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII. I actively disliked this piece before the concert, but after seeing that amazing performance I now love it. For the second encore Arnie Roth asked the crowd "Do you want to hear it again?" The response was deafening and we got "One Winged Angel" again. Definitely the best part of the night.
I bought one of the overpriced programs after the show. It's full of some great Amano artwork. If I get a chance, I may post some scans.
This kind of concert definitely needs to be done again (and not just in LA), and I'm certain we'll see more judging from the response to this show.
I had the pleasure of attending Dear Friends: The Music of Final Fantasy in Atlanta over the weekend and it was, as expected, outstanding.
I had never been to a game concert before, and I kinda expected my first would be in Tokyo rather than Atlanta, but that just goes to show how popular Final Fantasy (and video games) has become. It was kind of an odd experience to hear music that shaped much of my childhood come to life right before my eyes. If I could go back and tell my 11 year old self that in 15 years I would be listening to the 8-bit music being played by a real symphony I would never have believed it.
The crowd was an interesting mix to say the least. About 50% wore suits and looked like they had been to a symphony before, while the other half wore t-shirts and jeans. I'm not going to make fun of the guys who didn't dress up, but I will say this- Don't wear video game t-shirts to a symphony. Especially a video game symphony. That's kinda like wearing a band's shirt to the band's concert. It's just not done. Thankfully cosplaying was kept to a minimum. I only spotted 2 people dressed as characters (Rinoa and a White Mage if you must know).
The show started out with a great rendition of "Liberi Fatali" from Final Fantasy VIII, and while I'm not a fan of the game, the music is superb.
Next, the composer, Arnie Roth, explained that Nobuo Uematsu (the composer of the music) would not be there, but instead showed a video that Uematsu had taped. It was a little disappointing that he wasn't there, seeing as how he attended all of the other shows thus far.
Next up was "Zanarkand" from Final Fantasy X. Another of my least favorite Final Fantasies that happens to have one of my favorite soundtracks period. The arrangement was new, and I don't believe it's available on any of the import soundtracks. In fact, a lot of the arrangements were new. I hope Square-Enix decides to put out a cd of the concert so I can hear them again.
After "Zanarkand" was "Terra's Theme" from Final Fantasy VI. Finally, a Final Fantasy I like! The piece was beautiful but the CG that was shown on the video screens looked more than a little dated. I would have liked it much better if they had just shown some of Yoshitaka Amano's artwork. It's much more timeless than computer animation.
Next up was "Dear Friends" from Final Fantasy V and "Vamo'Alla Flamenco" from Final Fantasy IX. "Vamo'" was not really a favorite of mine before the concert, but this arrangement was something special. Much better than the game version.
They played "Love Grows" from Final Fantasy VIII before the intermission. After the intermission was the song that everyone was apparently waiting for - "Aeris's Theme" from Final Fantasy VII. The reaction from the crowd was more than a little startling. The first part of the song was drowned out by the screaming crowd. Two guys sitting near me were in tears at the end of the song. Apparently they still haven't gotten over Aeris's death.
The next two tracks "Not Alone" from Final Fantasy IX and "Ronfaure" from Final Fantasy XI, were kind of forgettable. The conductor introduced "Ronfaure" as a song that "some of you might be familiar with." I think I heard of a couple of boos when he mentioned it was from Final Fantasy XI. Not a fan favorite.
But the next piece, "Final Fantasy I-III Medley", more than made up for it. Going into the concert, I was most looking forward to this medley and I was not disappointed. If you want to hear it for yourself, the same arrangement can be found on the Final Fantasy 20020220 Concert CD.
After that was the "Final Fantasy theme" that is in many of the games. Another favorite of mine as well.
What followed was definitely the highlight of the evening. For the encore the symphony played "One Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII. I actively disliked this piece before the concert, but after seeing that amazing performance I now love it. For the second encore Arnie Roth asked the crowd "Do you want to hear it again?" The response was deafening and we got "One Winged Angel" again. Definitely the best part of the night.
I bought one of the overpriced programs after the show. It's full of some great Amano artwork. If I get a chance, I may post some scans.
This kind of concert definitely needs to be done again (and not just in LA), and I'm certain we'll see more judging from the response to this show.
9 comments:
You da man doub! go to my site and read your tribute
-jimmy
www.jimsloo.com
that banner kicks ass! did you design it? are you coming to winston this weekend? will you design a banner for me? i miss you.
"Ronfaure" isn't a bad piece, but I'm surprised they didn't go with "Recollection" instead, its easily on of the best main FF theme I've ever heard.
The FFXI OST is severely underrated, if you ask me.
Dan- No I didn't make that banner. It's part of the template I used.
Ian- I agree that "Ronfaure" and the rest of the FFXI OST isn't bad. I would go as far as to say all of the FF OSTS have been great. As I said in the post, FFX is one of my least favorite Final Fantasy's, but it has one of the best soundtracks.
Oh, and I can't believe I totally skipped 2 songs in my write-up. Final Fantasy IV's "Theme of Love" and a new piece from Advent Children. "Theme of Love" was great (as one would expect) and the Advent Children piece was mostly forgettable. It was a reworking of Aeris's Theme. Nothing really to write home about.
time for a new entry
~jim
can't wait for Advent Children *drools*
I just hope it's better than the first FF movie.
yeah, very true. that was a huge disappointment
actually, im almost positive its going to be good, after seeing the screenshots from it.
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