A Fantasy Come True – More Friends: Music From Final Fantasy Surpasses Expectations

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A Fantasy Come True – More Friends: Music From Final Fantasy Surpasses Expectations

Games get us excited. They make us think. They make us anticipate. They make us fly across the country for tournaments and media events. They make us wait in line for hours to buy new consoles. They make us do a lot of things... One thing they rarely do is impact our lives so greatly that we can say, "This is something I will never forget," mean it, and 10 years from now, still remember it.

Think of your favorite story. It can be from a movie, a video game, anywhere. Picture the characters that you love, the villains that you hate. Now, while staying focused on the characters, think of the music. Remember the song that played as the story peaked.

Take all of that, multiply it by one hundred and you might, if you focus really, really hard, be able to envision what it is like to experience the live performance of Square Enix's concert series – Dear Friends: Music from Final Fantasy.

This was the second time that the music of Final Fantasy was performed in front of a live audience in North America (hence the name of this particular show – More Friends).

James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Tidus from Final Fantasy X) hosted the show, reciting classic lines from his beloved Final Fantasy character. You could tell by the amount of laughter that the audience was mostly comprised of game players.

Those who came solely to appreciate the music and not as Final Fantasy players missed out on the best part. I cannot even begin to convey what it felt like to hear the opening theme from Final Fantasy VII. It was as though my soul was filled with music. Not just any music, but music from a world I once lived in. A world I explored. A war that I fought to end.

I thought of nothing else but that game and the experiences that I had with it. I remembered the characters, the battles, the fight to bring them to the place they longed to reach: the Promised Lands.

To have that kind of attachment to something fictional, and then, years after it's over, to relive that experience through live music – it is something that I will never be able to forget.

Conducted by Grammy-winning artist Arnie Roth and performed by the World Festival Symphony Orchestra, More Friends: Music from Final Fantasy continued to stir emotions with a live rendition of the main theme from Final Fantasy X (Zanarkand). The Black Mages (Nobuo Uematsu's band) rocked the house when they performed rock versions of classic tunes from Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII.

Emiko Shiratori, one of Square Enix's many talented friends, impressed the audience by performing Melodies of Life from Final Fantasy IX. Rikki, the hugely talented vocalist from Final Fantasy X, came on stage to perform her unforgettable hit, Seteki Da Ne.

Every performance was memorable, but none were as emotional as the World Festival Symphony Orchestra's performance of Aeris's theme.

For the grand finale, The Black Mages teamed up with The CSUF University Singers for One Winged Angel. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was one of the greatest combinations of live musical talent the world has ever seen.

We couldn't possibly thank them enough for their performances, nor would we thank Nobuo Uematsu enough for composing several hundred inspirational songs for the Final Fantasy series. Hopefully the smiles, cheers and the standing ovation they received will serve as a reminder that there are people like you and me who appreciate what they do. What they did for me on the night of May 16th, 2005 – that is something I will forever cherish.

Upcoming Shows:

June 24 & 25 - Atlanta, Georgia

July 1 - Ft. Worth, Texas

July 9 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

July 14 - San Diego, California

July 23 & 24 - Detroit, Michigan

Additional information can be found at: http://na.square-enix.com/uematsu

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