Not-So-Distant Worlds

Final Fantasy Nerd Heaven

My brother and I attended the Distant Worlds~Music from Final Fantasy concert in downtown Vancouver a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, it was awesome. Not only did we get to hear some of our childhood favorites being performed by a live orchestra, we also got to see the master, Nobuo Uematsu, himself! I am so glad I splurged a little extra to get good orchestra seats. If that didn’t sound exciting to you, then you, sir, are a Philistine.

Probably the most memorable part of the evening was when the orchestra played the all-around Final Fantasy VII favorite “One-Winged Angel” for the finale, but with a little twist: instead of the usual choir singing Latin vocals, the conductor Arnie Roth had the audience sing to the lyrics projected onscreen instead! Needless to say, the song was pretty much butchered (see the video below), but it was great fun nonetheless. Uematsu himself was stirring up the audience, but everyone really started to get into it at the part without the lyrics (at the 2:10″ mark on the video). (Of course, being the big nerd that I am, I didn’t even need to look at the screen to sing along. So sue me!)

Other highlights of the concert:

• “Aria di Mezzo Carattere” from Final Fantasy VI–with three opera singers playing Maria, Draco, and Draco’s rival. Unfortunately, it did not end with Maria getting kidnapped or with a giant octopus trying to drop an anvil from up the rafters.
• “Vamo’ Alla Flamenco” from Final Fantasy IX–the guy doing the guitar solo must have traded hands with the Robot Devil from Futurama, because the skill with which he plucked the strings was inhuman. Now that’s flamenco!
• “Dark World” from Final Fantasy VI–apparently a more recent addition to the setlist. Arnie Roth himself joins in to play the melancholy main melody with a violin solo (it’s normally done on piano). Uematsu himself joins in to play the church organ portion, except for some reason, he uses a baseball organ instead. This initially drew giggles from the younger crowd (little Philistines!), but the overall harmony was just as haunting as the original. The orchestra provides the ambient sound replicating the cold winds from the desolate wasteland where this theme was played.
• “Blinded By Light” from Final Fantasy XIII–the only piece from the setlist composed by my other favorite composer, Masashi Hamauzu! Glad to see they’re showing some love for his talent. Dumber fans knock him off just because he took over Uematsu’s usual post for FFXIII, but smart fans like me know better. That’s right–Hamauzu haters are Philistines. Philistines, I say!
• And of course, “Aerith’s Theme” from Final Fantasy VII–my all-time favorite Final Fantasy character theme, and the reason I attended this concert in the first place. Brings a tear to my eye every time! *sniff*

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