New Video Game Concert World Tour

[Gamemusicfreak]

Just got back from the concert! I'll put a big review up soon and lots of pics. It was a huge concert lasting just about three hours!!!! Here's a couple of neat pics.

It is with great pride that I geek out and show my picture with Yuzo Koshiro, and he signed my Ys and Actraiser CDs!!!! Enjoy...

[FM-77AV]

Wow! Photographed with Yuzo Koshiro, and signed CDs to boot!

That's awesome, makes me wanna go to Play! here in Sweden. I won't, though. Broke. Hehehehehe.

[Gamemusicfreak]

Okay! Full review of the Uematsu Tower Records Signing Event, then the Concert, plus a lot of pictures.

Thursday, May 25th: Arrival

I arrived at my hotel in Chicago, in order to become familiar with the area, I slept most of the day after doing a little walking.

My Hotel:


Friday, May 26th: Nobuo Uematsu signing event at Tower Records

I hop on the train at 11:00am in search of the Tower Records where Mr. Uematsu's signing event is to be held at 7:00pm. Luckily, finding it is a piece of cake thanks to the directions I got online. I reach the place at about 12:30pm, and now I have 6 1/2 hours to kill! I look around and see some posters on the window promoting the event. I am the first in line! I met a few people a little later but I mainly just browsed the store many times.
A famous anime/game music cover band appeared later on and took requests for various Final Fantasy and video game songs. They were very good, I will upload my videos of them soon.
The crowd grows throughout the day and I am allowed by the others there to keep my place as first in line.
I watch off and on as they set up the stage for Angela Aki's performance inside!

Uematsu arrives in a limo with Arnie Roth and Koji Kondo!! I had no idea he would be here! I think he was mostly observing. He was not visible most of the time. They enter the building right in front of us as the band plays the Final Fantasy Victory Fanfare and the Chocobo Theme. Everyone was smiling. I have video of this as well.
7:00pm: Time for the main event! Producer Jason Michael Paul recognizes me from the other concerts I attended last year! We enter the Tower Records and I get a front row seat right in front of the stage!
The producer gives us a preview of what the concert will be like, and he introduces us to Uematsu, Arnie Roth, who is conducting Play, and Angela Aki, who wrote and performs the vocal theme to Final Fantasy XII.
Angela Aki perofrms the Final Fantasy XII Vocal Theme "Kiss Me Goodbye" and another original song sung in Japanese. She played keyboard for both songs, and she sang beautifully. She was wearing an AC/DC shirt and jeans, which I thought was cool.

The Tower Records was now fully strocked with the "More Friends" FF Concert CD and the Final Fantasy XII theme single by Aki. Having previously picked both these up, I had no need to buy them now.
After the performance by Angela Aki, we all lined up to get items signed by the three of them.

While in line I was interviewed by gamespot. Evidently the producer may have hinted to them that I was a big fan, or maybe they chose me because I was first in line? I don't know, but it was quite fun and I was flattered. The line was long, but meeting Angel AKi, Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth was something I won't forget, and the Play concert hadn't even occured yet!

I brought a ton of stuff, and thankfully they were so nice and signed all of it. Angela Aki is beautiful and she looked like such a happy person.

Tower Records on Clark Street and a window display promoting the event with a picture of Angela Aki:



The Stage where Angela Aki Performed:


Nobuo Uematsu signing autographs:


After the event gametrailers.com interviewed me about the event and they even filmed me! I think they are going to upload the interview. Then the unthinkable happened. I noticed Koji Kondo, the Mario & Zelda Composer himself walking around, and I kindly asked the producer for a photo with him. Mr. Kondo was very shy!

Me and Koji Kondo at the Uematsu signing. I was so lucky to get this picture:

[Gamemusicfreak]

Things I got autographed at Tower Records:

Angela Aki:
FF XII Vocal Theme Single


Nobuo Uematsu:
FF VI OST

FF VI Grand Finale

FF IV OST and FF VI Special Tracks

FF VI Piano Collections

Black Mages I & II

FF VII Advent Children OST

More Friends Concert CD signed by Uematsu and conductor Arnie Roth


I'm working on a full review of the Play concert and will post it soon with more pictures!
One thing I learned at a FF concert in 2004 is to NEVER let a good Opportunity slip, that is why I brought so many things to get autographed.

[Gamemusicfreak]

Full concert review and more pictures!

Saturday, May 27th, Concert Day:

I line up outside the Rosemont theater at 5:00pm, with three hours until the show starts, and two hours until the doors open. A few fans join me in waiting a little later, and as we're all sitting there Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda walk out of the theater onlu several feet from us and continue walking across the street. I guess I was so shocked to see them I didn't bug them. I wanted to show them respect, after all, the meet and greet would be later.

7:00pm, doors open:
I get my first look at the merchandise on sale which includes a program book, Chrono Cross sheet music, Moonlit Shadow, Magic Pencil, and Sailing to the World CDs by Yasunori Misuda, More Friends Final Fantasy Shirts and CDs, and Play T-Shirts in Black and White. I spent $120.00 here!
It was all worth it.

8:00 pm: Showtime!
The concert began just about right on time at 8:00pm, and it was a packed theatre. Almost completely sold out. The crowd cheered wildly as all of the composers entered and took their seats. Once again Arnie Roth conducted, and he also did a fine job as MC for the event. The Chicagoland Pops Orchestra & the CPO Festival choir performed the music, with special guest percussionist Rony Barrak. Here's the set list:

1. Fanfare for Play! A Video Game Symphony (Nobuo Uematsu)

The theme for the event, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. I really like this, it has Uematsu's signature all over it.
You can hear it now by going to play-symphony.com.

2. Liberi Fatali (Final Fantasy VIII, Nobuo Uematsu)

The cinematic opening to Final Fantasy VIII, always great to hear live. There was nothing new to the arrangement, but I won't argue, it was fantastic!

3. New Super Mario Bros. Theme (Koji Kondo)

Koji Kondo himself took to the stage and gave us an absolutely wonderful rendition of the New Super Mario Bros. Theme on Piano. He looked so happy playing and he was really into it, swaying back and forth as he played.

4. Super Mario Bros. Suite (Koji Kondo)

An awesome orchestration of some of the best tunes from Mario's history. The original NES Mario music, as well as the underground and underwater themes were included, as well as others. The opening screen music from super Mario World, and the final lava level from Super Mario Bros. 3 was even played! The monitors showed footage from the NES Super Mario Bros. which garnered much applause, as well as Mario Sunshine and Mario 64.

5. Suite from Shenmue I & II (Takenobu Mitsuyoshi)

While I have never played these, I was familiar with some of the music, and this was an outstanding performance. The monitors showed some of the cinemas from the game.

6. Battlefield 1942 and Battlefiled 2 (Joel Eriksson, David Tallroth, Fredrik Englund, Jonas Ostholm, Bence Pajor)

My first time hearing music from both these games. Awesome cinemas from them were shown, and I really loved what I heard. What really stunned me was the awesome drum solo by percussionist Rony Barrak. He was incredible, and his face had crazy expressions on it as he performed.

7. Theme of Aeris (Final Fantasy VII, Nobuo Uematsu)

Can't go wrong here, always wonderfully performed live. Everyone loves Aeris at game music concerts I think!

8. Sonic the Hedgehog Suite (Masato Nakamura, arranged for this concert by Yuzo Koshiro)

This was awesome, and I knew it would be. Sonic arranged by Yuzo Koshiro? His presence here was basically why I came to the concert, hoping to finally meet the man whose music so inspires me. Some included songs were Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, and Star Light Zone. This had Koshiro's touch definitely, it was unique and jumpy, and the melodies were perfect. Star Light Zone was so soothing. Awesome sonic intros from some of the new games were shown.

9. Metal Gear Solid Theme (Tappy Iwase, Kazuki Muraoka)

A truly classic piece of game music. This theme is so memorable, I hadn't heard it in a while, but once I did here, the notes jumped back into my mind. Some FMV from the game was shown on the monitor screens.

10. Kingdom Hearts I & II (Yoko Shimomura, Hikaru Utada)

While Shimomura was not here, she will be attending the Play concert in Detroit. This was wonderful to hear!
Trickles of the frist game were included, but the piece really focused on the theme of Kingdom Hearts II, called Passion. I loved this, and I would love to hear it again soon.

Brief intermission

11. Kiss Me Goodbye (Final Fantasy XII, Angela Aki, Nobuo Uematsu)

Miss Angela Aki performed the Final Fantasy XII theme on piano and it has really grown on me. She has a really strong voice, and I can see her becoming a huge star soon. I saw her perform this at Tower Records the day before and had wanted to hear it again. Such a great song.

12. Eyes on Me (Final Fantasy VIII, Nobuo Uematsu, Faye Wong, Angela Aki as arranger here)

As she put it herself, this was the "Angela Aki Version" of the classic from Final Fantasy VIII previously performed by Faye Wong. This was incredible, she did an amazing job of transforming the song from a sentimental love piece to something smooth and with a faster pace. Again she played piano and the crowd loved it.

13. Suite from The Elder Scrolls III & IV: Morrowind and Oblivion (Jeremy Soule)

Awesome music from Jeremy Soule, man this was awesome, I was upset I hadn't played any of these games. This was my first time hearing music from these games.

14. Swing de Chocobo (Final Fantasy X, Nobuo Uematsu, Arnie Roth Arranger)

Everyone loved this. This is the swing version of the Chocobo Theme, and Arnie Roth arranged. This was like at the More Friends Concert, and the piece was jazzed up quite a bit.

15. Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross! (Yasunori Mitsuda)

Oh this was incredible! Songs included "To Far Away Times" and "Scars of Time". Frog's Theme was there too! Finally I was able to hear the openings from both Chrono games live. Rony Barrak joined again and played his drum wickedly for Chrono Cross.

16. World of Warcraft (Jason Hayes)

Awesome, Jason Hayes has made an excellent soundtrack to World of Warcraft and I was very familiar with it. A lot of the opening cinemas were shown and you could tell the cult following of the game by the roars of the crowd.

17. Silent Hill 2 (Akira Yamaoka)

Akira Yamaoka ROCKS!! He ran onto the stage and really took the place by storm. He really took in the moment, and was really behaving like a rock star. With his guitar, he can do no wrong.
The melody in this theme was unforgettable.

18. Halo Suite (Martin O'Donnell, Michel Salvatori)

One of the things I learned from this show was how wonderful the music is in some games I have yet to play. Halo is one of those games. Despite this being my first time hearing any music from Halo, I must say I was not ready for it. What a treat it was for me to hear an orchestra perform it too! Cinemas from the game were shown, and they fit really good with the music.
Mr. Arnie Roth remarked that he even played violin on some of the early recordings for the Halo soundtrack.

19. The Legend of Zelda (Koji Kondo)

Fans were begging for this long before the orchestra played it, and now it was finally time. The piece started out just like Ocarina of Time, and the Monitors even showed Link riding on his horse.
The original Themes from Zelda I & II were played, and of course the classic field theme as well. The dungeon theme from Zelda I was in there, and even the overworld theme from the dark world in A Link to the Past. I have wanted for so long to hear an orchestra perform this music, and I felt as if this moment was a gift.

20. Blue Dragon (Nobuo Uematsu)

A world premier of music From Hironobu Sakaguchi's upcoming game "Blue Dragon" with music by Nobuo Uematsu. I loved this, especially the cinemas, which were the same ones shown at E3 this year. It looks like an awesome game.

21. Finale, One Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII, Nobuo Uematsu)

I guess they couldn't help it, once again they closed a concert with this piece. I love it, I won't argue with them either. The choirs are always great to watch when they perform it. It's like they are about to actually summon Sephiroth or something! Though this was the final piece of the evening to a THREE HOUR CONCERT,
as an encore they performed it again mere moments later. What a way to end an unforgettable night.

11:15 pm
Meet & Greet with the Composers!!!

My heart was actually beating fast, I was quite nervous.
However, after standing in line two hours, I finally got to meet all of the composers who were there. Finally I got to meet Yuzo Koshiro and tell him how much I love his music.
After I layed several very old CDs in front of him, he laughed, and asked me how I got all of them. I just told him the truth and said "internet auctions". He said he was only 22 when he did the music for Actraiser. It was now about 1:08 am, and every one of those composers was still there sigining for all of us. I was so happy Mr. Koshiro agreed to pose for a photograph with me. I was so starstruck I forgot to ask for a picture with any of the other composers! There was a ton of stuff I got signed. Even though later I heard there was a "one item per composer" rule, no one said any thing to me.

Jeremy Soule was even giving out free downloads of the complete Elder Scrolls IV Soundtrack, and I took more than a few at his request. They were even giving us free posters of the event too!

This was a night I will never forget. I made it back to my hotel close to 2:00 am and had enough time to order a room service meal. I was smiling the whole time. Thank you to Jason Michael Paul Productions and all the composers for all of your patience, and for making it happen. My apologies if I got a song or two out of order, it was a long night. I am relying on my memory and the program book for the proper order of songs played!

[Gamemusicfreak]

Pictures!

The Rosemont Theater and a sign promoting the Play Concert:




Inside the Rosemont Theater and a look at the orchestra getting ready:




Some of the Merchandise for sale:






Things I got signed at the concert:

Program book and CDs



Yuzo Koshiro








Yasunori Mitsuda





Koji Kondo


This was a picture I drew as a gift to the producer, Jason Michael Paul for being so nice to me.


There, my full report of the premier of Play! A Video Game Symphony!

[Gamemusicfreak]

mp83 said:

Wow, quite a read.

Man, I'm so jealous of you now. Nothing that exciting will ever happen in my life.

Thanks for reading, I tried to put a lot of effort into that.
I think it is only a matter of a little time before the Play concert becomes even bigger. It wouldnt surprise me at all to see it go to Finland. The producer has mentioned wanting to go to every continent with this tour.

[FM-77AV]

Every continent? But Sweden and Finland are just next to each other, on the same continent. You'll have to travel aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way to Sweden, that will take a whole hour or something like that, don't you think?

[CrazyJo82]

You know, my uncle just brought this to my attention and it will be in Toronto, Canada at the Hummingbird Centre on Sept 30. But the tickets are from $85 to $125 :\

[Gamemusicfreak]

I highly recommend attending the concert if at all possible, you will have a blast. I'm actually considering attending the concert in Detroit as well in July. The concert is that good. Yoko Shimomura and Hitoshi Sakimoto will be there, and a new piece by Sakimoto will be performed.

If anyone's interested, some cool behind the scenes info on the first concert is finally up.
www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=2796
www.gamespot.com/news/6151989.html
www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=518
www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3151125

[Gamemusicfreak]

They just updated the Play homepage!
Shadow of the Colossus Music? I'm there!!!!!

1. PLAY! to feature music from Shadow of the Colossus

The multi award-winning Shadow of the Colossus will be a part of the
PLAY! concert in Detroit on July 12, 2006, performed by the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra and chorus.

Full Story: www.play-symphony.com/news.php?full=41

-

2. PLAY! debuted to sold-out crowd in Stockholm

PLAY! made its triumphant European debut in Stockholm, Sweden. A
sold-out performance and 15 minutes of standing ovations characterized
the overwhelming crowd response in the capital of Scandinavia.

Full Story: www.play-symphony.com/news.php?full=40

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

So you're gonna be there with your recording mikes and pirate all this for us, right?

Current Music: In the Town ~ Happy Humming - Koichi Sugiyama

[Gamemusicfreak]

I got a seat further away this time, I think I could get some good footage/audio with my camera. Last time there was a guard by me at all times, and they said no filming, even though some did it.

[sideshow]

shadow of the collosus in concert.............thats huge!!

[Gamemusicfreak]

Here's a couple pics from last night's show. First of all, don't let anyone tell you they didn't give away free Kingdom Hearts Mangas, because they did. You just had to get there early not to miss out on it.
Kingdom Hearts Manga:

Me with Yoko Shimomura & Hitoshi Sakimoto!

Full report soon!

[Gamemusicfreak]

I had such a good time last night, I don't want my traveling adventures to end.

[Vert]

Pleeeeease tell me they made recordings of the concert. PLEASE tell me they did.

[Gamemusicfreak]

Hey, they are definitely filming/recording these shows, whether or not there will be CDs or DVDs remains to be seen. I think it's only a matter of time though. The More Friends FF Concert made it to CD. Every show I attend I am getting more acquainted with the producer. I'll pester him to get it done.

[Falcom Director of Fanservice]

Dude, GMF. That's an awesome picture, that second one. You had just the right shirt for it.

Question: Did they do walking motions while standing in place?

[Gamemusicfreak]

Last night's Play concert in Philadelphia was AWESOME! It was at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, which is an outside venue, with a limited roof.

There was a storm, and it really added to the atmosphere. The sound of the thunder with lightning and rain, along with the music was very cool.

Here is the set list:

1. Play Theme
2. Liberi Fatali
3. Mario Medley
4. Shenmue
6. Battlefield 1942
7. Sonic Medley
8. Aeris
9. Metal Gear Solid Theme
10. Kingdom Hearts

Intermission

11. Morowind Suite
12. Premiere of music from "Prey." This was wicked, it really felt like a horror/science fiction score.
13. Swing de Chocobo
14. World of Warcraft
15. Chrono Trigger / Chrono Cross
16. Theme of Laura (Silent Hill 2)
17. Halo
18. Zelda Medley
19. One Winged Angel

Encore
20. Blue Dragon

Arnie Roth Conducted again, there were two taped messages, one from Nobuo Uematsu and one from Koji Kondo, thanking the fans.

The Mann Festival Orchestra and Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia performed the music. Hard to believe they fit it all into two hours.