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Note: A new PLAY! concert date has been set for March 29, 2007 in
Hartford CT. For all the game music fans in the area, it's a
once-in-a-lifetime experience, and one that you'll hopefully choose
to partake in, either before or after you read this column.
Being the type to take long pauses out of my gaming time to sit
and enjoy the accompanying music, I shouted with utter joy as I
found out PLAY! A Video Game Symphony was coming to my town. I've
adored the work of Uematsu, Mitsuda, and Kondo, ever since I was old
enough to appreciate gaming. The scores playing in the background as
Aeris suffered her tragic fate, Link traversed around Hyrule, and
the opening movie of Chrono Cross are forever embedded in my memory.
I listen to these tracks often, even when gaming is far from my
mind. I fall asleep to them, meditate to them, and even exercise
with some of them. They've penetrated my music repertoire with
greater force and quality than any other musical act. These men have
my utmost respect along with my undying support. I try to be a
dutiful fan and ignore cheaper options, purchasing their music on
Japanese Web Sites, bookstores, wherever and whenever I possibly
can.
I bought my tickets as soon as I found out a full orchestra would
be playing some of the greatest tracks by all my favorite composers.
PLAY! is the brainchild of a few folk behind last year's Dear
Friends tour, a Final Fantasy concert series. The success and
response proved, thankfully, that there is a market for VGM
concerts, and that fans will support it. Waiting in my seat for the
concert to begin, I marvel not only at the fact that I'm sitting in
a extremely lavish concert hall, but that the full piece orchestra
and choir are about to perform game music. Not Tchaikovsky, not
Dvorak, but Uematsu, Mitsuda, and Kondo. I'm bursting with
anticipation.
The crowd is a mixture of older and younger people,
male-dominated and very spirited, mushroom-branded shirts and all.
They bustle about until the start, buying last minute food and
souvenirs. The shirts and programs for today's event are of decent
quality, but I decide to buy a Dear Friends program from last year,
simply because the logo looked breathtaking and I love Uematsu the
most. I peruse the program, with gorgeous glossy art from all the FF
games as well as Uematsu's comments on various pieces of his work.
I'm literally floating out of my chair just reading his thoughts. I
can't wait for the ball to roll and my aural senses to be immersed
in his beauty and creative genius.
The conductor steps out; a short, stubby looking man with an
obvious affinity for video games who introduces himself as Arnie
Roth, one of the brains behind the concert tonight. Throughout the
concert, he talked about his relationship with the various people,
including Uematsu and Kondo. Both contributed a few short video
pieces which play in between sets, and the crowd goes wild when they
appear on the three giant monitors above the orchestra. When they
flip off and the music begins, scenes from various games interlaced
with shots of the orchestra stimulate the visual as well as aural
sense. Like we really need more stimulation. Just hearing Aeris'
theme grace a full fleet of violinists, harp, trumpets, and piano is
enough to bring tears to this unabashedly jaded gamer's eyes.
The set list is phenomenal. In addition to several Final Fantasy
pieces, including Liberi Fatali, Aeris, and One-Winged Angel, we hear traditional favorites from Mario, Zelda, Chrono, and Kingdom
Hearts. Other notable scores include Metal Gear, Shenmue, World of
Warcraft, and Silent Hill 2. And as a special treat, the band closed
with a preview of the score from the upcoming Blue Dragon, Uematsu's
latest work. Every single piece picked is hand-tailored to fit the
orchestra, and the graphics which are shown on-screen are excellent,
with scenes from Metal Gear Solid 4 and Blue Dragon providing a
sneak peak for eager fans. Sounds of strings waft through the air,
mixing ensemble with soloists, and the well-trained choir chiming in
at key moments. Hearing One-Winged Angel, trumpets blaring, choir
chanting "Sephiroth, Sephiroth," is bound to be one of the
most special experiences for any gamer. It gives a subtle legitimacy
to my often-times ridiculed preference of video game music to bland,
boring pop-rock.
Now that I've heard these songs done by an orchestra, there's no
turning back. I am completely unafraid to shout out, Yasunori
Mitsuda is a genius, or Koji Kondo deserves an Academy Award for his
work even though he's never scored an American film. I cannot get
enough. For those who contemplate heading to a video game concert, I
guarantee you'll never look at gaming the same. The next time you
pop in your game disc, at a random moment, you'll abandon the game
itself, and lose yourself in the wonderful melodies and tunes which
provide a vital, irreplaceable service to the quality, the emotional
investment of the modern video game experience. |
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