Nothing beats a live symphony. Maybe listening to the best recording with the best sound system might be comparable, but you don't get the real live experience. I haven't been to a show at Davies Symphony Hall for more than a decade. A bunch of friends and I saw John Williams perform here back when we were in high school. That's probably one of the last times John Williams ever came to San Francisco. Why? I don't know. I wonder what his beef is with San Francisco anyway. At least I saw him a couple more times at his summertime gigs at the Hollywood Bowl. But I digress...
I wanted to keep this blog entry short, but I don't think I can about Final Fantasy. Much of my high school and some of my college years were spent playing these games. Heck, I'm casually playing Final Fantasy III on and off right now, and if ever that gets done I'll be downloading the sequel to FF IV on Wii.
So the Distant Worlds show last Saturday was a nice, soothing experience. It would've been more so if the nicely dressed audience didn't smell so much like Comic-Con. This was the stinkiest audience I've experienced in a symphony, despite everyone looking nice. Just because we're all geeks doesn't mean we have to smell like one. Also, I was pleased to see the video screen upon entering, which helped my lady mentally attach visuals to the music. But unfortunately, IMO, the videos were edited choppily. Yes, I am nitpicking, and I do realize this is all about the music, but the videos that played during the Dear Friends tour were edited to the music so much better. The videos played during this performance just felt like random clips spliced together with no sense of storytelling. Some clips would repeat during the same song! Maybe because Square Enix only gave permission to a limited number of clips? I don't know, but whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure the videos could've been executed with a bit more care. Heck, I'd do it if I have spare time.
So here's a setlist along with mini reviews for each:
- Victory Fanfare
Arnie Roth, the conductor, seemed like a joyous fellow, always sounding excited when he talked about the music. He said he found a fun way to open the show... with this simple 3 chord fanfare: C-C-C-C, Ab, Bb, C-Bb-C! (Applause)
- Liberi Fatali (FF VIII)
A solid dramatic action choral piece. But because the original in-game version sounds good as is, this live performance didn't sound too different. Unfortunately the accompanying video felt so random.
- To Zanarkand (FF X)
The only song from FF X. Although I have never played X, I did know of this song. It's a very beautiful piano piece. I won't ever forget the first time I saw this performed back in 2005, during the Dear Friends tour. The video opened with some raising-the-dead dance scene the female lead does. It was beautifully choreographed, fit well with the music, and gave me chills down my spine. Unfortunately the video for this performace had that same clip at the end of the song, and didn't quite have the effect that I got from the Dear Friends version.
- Don’t Be Afraid (FF VIII)
A fun fighting piece. Again, since the in-game version of this sounded good as is, this live performance didn't sound too different. Various FF VIII battles and cinematics were on-screen, with the last half being that giant spider robot battle.
- Aerith’s Theme (FF VII)
The famous song that played during the most memorable moment of everyone else's favorite Final Fantasy game. The video consisted of clips of the character, both cinematic and in-game, and was probably the better edited of all the videos. They even edited out her famous death scene; an edit I agree with because seeing her get shanked from behind while she was praying would've taken away from experiencing this beautiful song.
- Medley 2002 (FF I-III)
A trip down memory lane, though these memories are more recent for me. I've briefly played FF I back in the day, but never got too far because it took too long. Then they re-released it on PSP, which I intend to play... someday. I've played FF II more recently on an emulator, but unfortunately I don't remember the story and characters much. I'm currently playing the FF III remake on and off right now.
What I enjoy about these shows is hearing these 8-bit, cheap-sounding songs on a full-on, live orchestra. The clips of the 8-bit games on a big screen got some chuckles.
- Dear Friends (FF V)
Solid guitar playing accompanied with concept art from the game.
- Vamo’alla Flamenco (FF IX)
A fun flamenco piece accompanied with random clips from the game.
- Love Grows (FF VIII)
This one's for the ladies. A very beautiful arrangement of the "Eyes On Me" melody, highlighted by a solo pianist. Accompanied with many of the lovey-dovey cinematics from the game.
- Ronfaure (FF XI)
Never played it or heard the music. Accompanied with game cinematics that look a lot like the invasion of Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings.
- Final Fantasy series: Main Theme
This song is featured on all of the endings of the games. The video was a good summary of the series, accompanied with various clips. This would've been a nice ending to the show, but read on to find out how they ended it with a bang instead.
-Intermission-
- Bombing Mission (FF VII)
The initial, action-packed, opening mission from FF VII.
- The Man With the Machine Gun (FF VIII)
Battle scenes regarding the character Laguna Loire from FF VIII.
- Theme of Love (FF IV)
Kind of a corny love song from FF IV, even though FF IV is my 2nd favorite Final Fantasy game of all time. I'll get to the DS version remake... one of these days.
- Swing de Chocobo
A big band arrangement of the chocobo theme. Think "Swing, swing, swing" drums. Arnie Roth said this arrangement was Nobuo's idea. A very fun piece, made even more fun by having "dancing" 8-bit chocobos on-screen. The video included chocobo clips from all the games. It even ended with "Brady Bunch" tiles consisting of chocobos. For this blog, I'm including an awesome cockatiel singing the song.
- Opera – Maria & Draco (FF VI)
One of the more charming and funnier scenes in my favorite FF game. The heroes got mixed up with an opera house and one of the female characters had to pose as an opera singer. Of course, a giant octopus interrupts and the heroes are forced to do battle on stage. This performance was a nice re-enactment with real vocalists, much better than the synthesized sound on the 16-bit game. Minus the octopus, of course (which would've been awesome).
- Terra’s Theme (FF VI)
I remember back in high school during free period, when NP and I would be walking around campus. Sometimes he would hum this tune as if we were on a long journey. For this performance, it was used to show end credits over that opening 16-bit scene of mechs walking on the snow.
- Encore - One Winged Angel (FF VII... again)
After much applause, Arnie Roth came back and announced that Nobuo will return to Final Fantasy music by doing work on XIII. He also said they are almost done with arranging two more songs for the tour: J-E-N-O-V-A from FF VII and Dancing Mad from FF VI, and will premiere when they get to Chicago. Everyone gasped when he said that. I would love to hear Dancing Mad live, since that final battle music was very memorable and appropriate for the villain. Then he brought Nobuo Uematsu on stage to announce the "surprise" encore, One Winged Angel, the battle music for everyone's favorite villain from everyone's favorite FF game. Everyone cheered and wooed and applauded. Yes, I admit I like this song a lot too. But a lot of people like it a lot as well, therefore resulting in countless remakes, rearrangements, and re-releases. I guess everyone else had the same rush as I had when they first fought the final boss. Now I know why they didn't end the show with the FF Main Theme. The symphony and vocalists pwned this song and ended the show with a bang.
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