PLAY! A Video Game Symphony

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Godai

I'm going, but I'm confused. Tickets went on sale only a few days ago? I got mine a good 2 months ago. Am I missing something?

I've been checking the site for the last month, and I've only seen the Hummingbird Centre selling tickets for people who are members of their "Circle of Friends", even if you went through Ticketmaster. Seems like the "Circle of Friends" members get first crack at the tickets, and they only went on sale to the general public a few days ago. Unless all the "YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF THE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS TO BUY TICKETS AT THIS TIME; TICKETS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC GO ON SALE MAY 27th" things I kept running into were lying to me.

I don't know what the chances are for many composers to bother coming to the Toronto show. But I can hope. Hearing Yamaoka playing Silent Hill music live would be worth my entire trip right there.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Godai

Weird. I definately got my tickets from Ticketmaster on February 15th, 2006. ORCH1 Row BB Seats 42 and 43. I doubt there will be special guests for Toronto, at least not of the same calibre as those in other cities. If they were playing some kind of Prince of Persia music, maybe they could have asked Stuart Chatwood to come, he's Canadian.

That might explain why the Ticketmaster link for that show on the PLAY! site led to a "This show does not exist" message until a few days ago. Maybe they had them on sale super-early for some reason, then yanked them when they decided to do exclusive-only ticket sales for the last few weeks, then put them back up again a few days ago. Seems like as good a theory as any.

Hey, I'm only a few rows up from you! ORCH3, row FF.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Videos of Akira Yamaoka's performance and One-Winged Angel. Those just justified my ticket right there. If you're not sure whether you want to go to the show (and, like me, were annoyed by the lack of a decent trailer on the site), check 'em out.

Why can't it be September NOW?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Cogo

And big news for Toronto show goers: Nobuo Uematsu will attend the concert!

Throw in Yamaoka and this will be less a trip than a pilgrimage.

Most of the Stockholm show recording sounded pretty good. From what I've listen to so far, the only really bad piece was Theme of Laura. Can't wait to see the Toronto show!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by masamunecyrus

For those of you that wanted to compare Stockholm's "Theme of Laura" to Chicago's excellent one, there's a video on YouTube of Akira Yamaoka in his now-legendary snakeskin suit.

"PLAY: Theme of Laura (with Akira Yamaoka)"*

It was definitely a VERY unique experience hearing a symphony playing along with drums and a very very loud electric guitar.


*NOTE: Since I don't have enough posts to post URLs yet, just type that above string into YouTube's search and it should be the only video you find.

Already linked.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Drakken

PLAY! to feature music from famous Castlevania-series

Quote:

» PLAY! to feature music from famous Castlevania-series

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 25, 2006 - Today, JMP Productions announced that music from Konami's famous video game series Castlevania is going to be performed at PLAY!'s first stop in Canada on September 30, 2006 at the Hummingbird Centre in Toronto. ]

[...]

"Torontonians can look forward to a very special evening," says Jason Michael Paul, producer of PLAY!. "I, for one, cannot wait to take my seat and experience the music from Castlevania and all the other incredible titles featured in PLAY! that will be performed by the orchestra and choir.".

YES. Keep the good news coming, PLAY!. Justify my plane ticket!

I wonder what Castlevania songs will make the cut. It'd be interesting to see something like "The Tragic Prince" make it into an orchestra arrangement. Though considering the Kingdom Hearts suite apparently leaves out songs like "Destati", I guess it's most likely to just be a main theme or two. :/

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by espressivo

So, the Toronto show is coming up, anyone in the area buy tickets yet, or are planning?

I've got my ticket, and I'll be in Toronto for a few days before and after the show. Gonna visit friends and do some wandering around.

For the people who have been to the previous PLAY! concerts; do there tend to be pre-show gatherings and media events and things? I remember seeing footage of either PLAY! or VGL having an autograph signing session at a music store the day before the concert, which included some fan musicians showing up and playing game music for people waiting in line. If it WAS PLAY! that did that, do they tend to do it for all the concerts?

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm in Toronto, and I'll be there tomorrow in ORCH 3. I'm planning on being at the Hummingbird Centre around 6:45 or 7:00 and hanging around outside for a while before the show. I'll be easy to spot, since I have dark purple hair at the moment.

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Amanda, I read something about that before... did you find any news?

I got an email a few days ago from the Hummingbird Centre advertising a pre-concert get-together, but it's just a panel discussion about game music with a few people from the film composer's of Canada group or something. Other than that, there's just the meet-and-greet after the show that you have to pay $40+ extra for ahead of time. I'm hoping to show up early at the Hummingbird Centre and find some people jamming outside or something, but I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, and I doubt there's CDs. No PLAY! ones, anyway. None of the other shows have had any. Pamplets and shirts maybe, but unless this is the first show they're selling CDs and they've kept REALLY quiet about it, there's unlikely to be any.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Fuck, that was pretty gooodd... And that Shenmue guy singing - HEELARIOUS.
Btw, did anyone see Nobuo? I dont even think he came. >_>

Btw, I'm not sure if this was you, Amanda. But were you with 3 other people? And you spoke French.... <_______<

Nope, that wasn't me. I only ran into one person from GFF, horseman85. Though I did meet two interesting (non-GFF, as far as I know) people during the concert. Sat next to one guy who was nice to chat with, and I ran into someone else after the show and we mourned our mutual getting-screwed-by-the-Hummingbird-Centre because they waited until the last minute to send out the emails about the post-show get-together. Wankers.

I was sitting about ten feet away from Uematsu! I think I have two pictures of the side of his head on my camera somewhere. I'll post 'em when I download the pictures.

Is the Dear Friends CD really just a "best of" thing? Blow. That's such tremendous false advertising. At least the concert programme is nice.

There were so many amazing performances during this concert. The Chrono, Castlevania, and Warcraft suites were fantastic, and so were most of the other performances (minus poor Theme of Laura). That drummer was amazing, and Shenmu guy's piano performance was hilarious. I wish the little nitpicky crap hadn't bogged the show down for me. The spotlight work was bad, the close-ups of the orchestra on the screens seemed to focus more on performers sitting there waiting for their cues than the people doing solos, there were those random explosions during the first half of the show (piano strings snapping, I think), and-- Well, it's not a Hummingbird Centre problem so much as a Play! problem, but S-E really come off as a bunch of stingy assholes when their songs are pretty much the only ones without cut scenes playing on the screens (with the exception of Kingdom Hearts for some reason).

Any recordings released yet? I tried (a friend desperately wanted to hear the Castlevania suite), but I'm pretty sure her recorder gave up its battery-ghost near the beginning of the show. Boo-urns.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Just pulled my pictures off my camera from the Toronto show. I got three pictures of Uematsu, and this was the best one. I'm still disappointed that I didn't get an autograph, but at least I got SOMETHING.



I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?