I would be up for a GFF meet of sorts. Also, I am planning on bringing my Nintendo DS...I attended one of the last Dear Friends concerts without it, and heard afterwards that there was tons of picochatting going on which I'd have loved to be in on. So anyone who's got one, bring it.

As soon as I heard they were having a concert in Stockholm I went almost nuts witn joy. And bought a ticket for almost immedietley after they were released. As a VGM Maniac I didnt want to miss it. Probably the only time Sweden will have such luck. >_>

And when I heard Uematsu and Chris Hülsbeck are attending the concert, it sounds too good to be missed.

Also, does anyone who lives in Chicago want to host a GFF crash party the night before/of? :)

I can't wait to go to this!

Jeremy Soule's Oblivion has been added to the bill -
http://www.music4games.net/News_Display.aspx?id=293

This thing just keeps getting bigger. I haven't been keeping score, but it seems like they have 50 tracks lined up and like a dozen composers attending.

Wow. I wonder what date I should order tickets by if I want to be sure I get them for the July 27th Philly show?

We conducted an email interview with the PLAY! concert producer here:
http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=57

what is the dress code per-se? im attending this weekend though only the cheapest seat coz i got not much dough :(

here's the latest announcement which will be of interest to PLAY! attendees:

Hitoshi Sakimoto and Yoko Shimomura to attend PLAY! Detroit concert
http://www.music4games.net/News_Display.aspx?id=298

I believe dress code is smart casual.

Sakimoto presents music from Vagrant Story, a.k.a. the theme music of Detroit.

Ah FUCK! They'd better come through Seattle eventually.

Interesting, more and more popular composers are attending each PLAY! concert; at this rate, I certainly wouldn't be too surprised having some other composers like Hamauzu or Sakuraba come in.

It's been announced that Yoko Shimomura and Hitoshi Sakimoto will both be attending the concert in Detroit on July 12th.

News here:
http://play-symphony.com/news.php

So, who's going to the Toronto show? Tickets for the general public went on sale today, and (barring a second fuck-up with Ticketmaster) I just snagged mine.

That's no small commitment for me, considering I'm going to have to pay so much extra to fly up there from Newfoundland and find a hotel or hostel for the weekend. THAT'S how much hope I have for this show, even without any special guests announced yet. It's so far in the future that I guess they haven't arranged anything yet, so I suppose the only thing to do is to check the site from time to time and hope the ONE Canadian show gets some love eventually.

Hmm I wonder if I'll be able to find replacement for that weekend of sept. 30... Because it's a 6-hours trip from my house, I better find a hotel there too.

just a quick information guys... recently I read news that a popchestra in my country, called Twilite Orchestra has planned to perform Final Fantasy concert in my country in June. The information is still vague, they do recruit pianist who could play Tatakau Monotachi though. I will keep you informed, and if they happen to release a CD after the concert, I would buy it and share it to community of course.

This is really a surprise, considering not too many people in my country know the name of "final fantasy".

It was awesome, enough said!, i attended the chicago one and i must say that although there were a few things i wish would have been implemented more (ex.Final Fantasy Main Theme instead of One Winged Angel twice) it was unbelievable. Koji Kondo did a piano solo for the Wii mario game that was absolutely amazing, the sonic arrangements made my mouth drop! and MGS!!! omg!, Akira Yamaoka, chrono cross theme arranged/orchestrated...sigh!! I am so angry they didnt have cd's LOL, nothing like enjoying a night of this and not being able to take anything home to listen to lol!!! I could really go on and on about it, but its too much. I certainly do hope you guys and gals enjoy it as i have:D.

Maybe by the time they get around to the Canadian concert in September, they'll have some CDs to sell. That'd make it worth the wait, at least. ;)

Did they play any Silent Hill music at the Chicago concert, Musashinden? I'm curious what tracks they would have chosen (except the obvious main theme, of course).

Nice to hear that One Winged Angel made it, though. I put the More Friends version on one of the mix CDs I play while driving, and because of that, I've gradually gotten far, far more fond of OWA than I used to be. It's oddly invigorating to be driving in heavy traffic with the orchestra/Black Mages live version blaring.

I was also at the Chicago concert, and Akira Yamaoka himself played on the guitars and did an awesome rendition of Theme of Laura, with backing instruments by the orchestra; very good stuff.

Unfortunately, my hotel was far away, so I couldn't stay to hear the second showing of One-Winged Angel (it was eleven by then), but the first time around was already great. Liberi Fatali was practically perfect, though.

Got my ticket for the Toronto show! Yes! Btw, how long is the conert gonna be? I'm wondering if i can get a bus out of TO by midnight or if i should just stay with friends that night . . .

Amanda, Yamaoka played guitar behind the orchestra (a la Special End Title from the Biohazard Orchestral Album) which was awesome indeed:D! I cant remember exactly how long it was but i KNOW it was LOONG lol, OVER 2 hours at least;). The concert started at 8 and ended about 11pm:D. I mean they way they did MGS Main Theme, Sonic, even Koji Kondos' new Mario Wii Theme he did solo on piano was incredible. There so much to it, you all should check it out if possible. I cant wait to get a cd:).

:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o

That sounds amazing. I wish I could've been there. :-/

I'm hoping to see the July 27th one in Philly.

Koji Kondo's piano solo wasn't from Super Mario Galaxy, that was the main level theme from the new DS Mario game. Arnie Roth confirmed it too, saying it was from "the new Super Mario Bros game". I can see why people would have confused it, but if you play it on the DS it's the exact song. Koji Kondo isn't credited as the composer for the new DS game (only the "Sound Director"), but it'd be cool if that song ended up in some form in Super Mario Galaxy anyway.

The concert in general was outstanding. Everyone was so excited and the show had lots of special treats with random performances and solos between the orchestra's songs. Angela Aki has the voice of a goddess (as well as being blindingly hot).

I gave Jeremy Soule an origami box as thanks for contributing to Overclocked ReMix an arrangement of FF6's Terra's Theme.

I'm attending the Detroit concert, also :)! I want to get V.I.P. tickets and give Ms. Shimomura a copy of my KH arrangements, heh. I just hope that by the time I round up my friends to order tickets, that the V.I.P. seats won't all be taken.

As for the Chicago concert, WOW! I loved every bit of it! I especially loved the Battlefield suite, and the Chrono Series Suite. The percussionist they featured was awesome, and his playing really fit Time's Scar. The Elder Scrolls suites were also great. I was rather impressed with the American game music contributions, and the Japanese were more nostalgic and just as entertaining. Yamaoka's performance was awesome, as well! The orchestral rock was a perfect way to give the concert some variety in styles. I can't wait for Detroit :D!