First off, whoever does not have The Butterfly Effect's Imago should go get it now. It's worth it.

Ok, just came home from my first attendance to a symphony orchestra. Not just a typical orchestra performance, but an orchestra performance featuring music from Studio Ghibli Anime features and Final Fantasy Games. Being the first time for me, I had to go, and yes it was worth the 35 bucks. Here was the program:

First Set:

Morning in the Slag Ravine (Joe Hisashi - Laputa Castle in the Sky)
The Opened Way - Battle With the Colossus - (Koh Ohtani - Shadow of the Colossus)
War War War (Joe Hisashi - Howl's Moving Castle)
Highwind Takes to the Skies (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII)
Mamma Aiutto (Joe Hisashi - Porco Rosso)
Crimson Wings (Joe Hisashi - Porco Rosso)
Mysterious World (Joe Hisashi - Howl's Moving Castle)
Final Fantasy Medley
- Opening Theme (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII)
- Tina's Theme (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VI)
- Love Grows (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VIII)
- Vamo' alla Flamenco (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy IX)
- Main Theme (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy IV)
- Fiddle De Chocobo (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy VII)
- Final Fantasy (Nobuo Uematsu - Final Fantasy)

Second Set:

My Neighbour Totoro (Joe Hisashi - My Neighbour Totoro)
Tori no Hito (Joe Hisashi - Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind)
Journey to the West (Joe Hisashi - Princess Mononoke)
Laputa (Joe Hisashi - Laputa, Castle in the Sky)
Life's Merry-Go-Round (Joe Hisashi - Howl's Moving Castle)
Promise of the World (Youmi Kimura - Howl's Moving Castle)
Decisive Battle (Masashi Hamauzu - Final Fantasy X)
Hope - Main Theme (World Premiere) (Taro Hakase, Yuji Toriyama - Final Fantasy XII)
- 1st Movement, Overture
- 2nd Movement, March of a Wiseman
- 3rd Movement, Road of Hope
- 4th Movement, Romance
- 5th Movement, Road of Hope Refrain

Encore:

Always with me (Youmi Kimura - Spirited Away)
Katamari on the Rock (! - Katamari Damacy)


Shadow of the Colossus was the official opener and was the most foreign musical piece for me. However, I've heard nothing but excellent reviews for the PS2 game (and it's been released here so everyone can play it) and also has a killer soundtrack to die for... the orchestra pretty much blew me away and I'm pretty much hanging for the next time I go to EB Sale (and if I do have an extra cash) to grab this game soon.

I'm not really too familiar with Joe Hisashi's work (curiously his name is an anagram for Quincy Jones) but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate his work, I actually enjoyed it. Crimson Wings was a treat, I'm a big fan of Porco Rosso about a flying Pig and the fact the film builds up to perhaps the greatest animated punch-on of all time, so that was great to hear. Laputa was a great listen to a brilliant theme, but my personal favorite was Journey to the West. The fact the Princess Mononoke is probably my favorite of Hayao Miyazaki's work, it's majestic theme was an experience to hear with a live orchestra. Time for me to get the soundtrack...

Nobuo Uematsu on the other hand is a guy who's music I've worshipped my whole musical life, so I pretty much know his compositions back to front. The Final Fantasy Medley was pretty much did it for me, and the fact that (the immortal) Tina's Theme and The Main theme for FFIV was included, great for all the little spoiled kids of generation now that think Final Fantasy doesn't exist before FFVII. Though it was a shame not to hear One Winged Angel, perhaps that's asking too much, even the Advent Children version, Masashi Hamauzu's Decisive Battle more than made up for it. Hamauzu has become one of my favorite composers of all time and that I've got 90% of all his work (with the exception of Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon - extremely hard to find, legally anyway), and he was the inspiration for me to take piano a lot more seriously. This piece in particular is one of his finest and that seeing and hearing the chaotic piano solo live is amazing.

There were three big surprises that presented themselves in the end.

The first was the Main Theme Hope from the unreleased Final Fantasy XII. Now I kinda lost touch with the Final Fantasy music since Uematsu started to participate less in composing and more in live performances (with conducting orchestras or playing in the heavy rock band The Black Mages), but FFXII sounds extremely promising (considering it was largely composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, who's music can only be described as... well, unique: imagine a symphony orchestra conducted by DJ Shadow and add mood swings), so that definitely up in my things to do in gaming.

Special Guest Youmi Kimura sang Promise of the World during the second set, but for me, probably the only person in the Melbourne Town Hall that night who still hasn't seen Howl's Moving Castle, I kinda enjoyed her second performance more: the dreamy ballad from Spirited Away; Always with me, with only her tender opera voice and that weird harp of hers as the only accompaniment.

The final surprise was rather unexpected: Katamari on the Rock; performed in full orchestra glory. This pretty much put a smile in everybody's faces as it also included visuals from the first Katamari Damacy game that became a cult favorite; for those who don't know, it's about a little guy rolling a ball around and trying to stick as many "things" on the ball as possible (things from small objects such as pens and cats eventually to large objects like buildings and countries) - easier explained than seen. But yeah, the humourous fitting finale.

Overall, this pretty much enforced my interest in orchestral symphonic music to a greater degree. And as if that isn't already evident, the latest batch of songs that I've been writing (including the ones with Liam Jeremy and Danny) have been cinematic in nature, plus it's always been my ambition to make a symphonic arrangement of our songs (hand picked by the four of us of course) with a 72 piece orhcestra w/choir or traditional instruments from selected native countries and have Jeremy sing over them.

Anyways, due to financial difficulties (new house in Caroline Springs), I'm gonna have to put that Mac Powerbook on hold so recording those new songs of mine will have to wait...



By the way;

Jeremy, when are you free for practice?