First U.S. Final Fantasy Concert Announced

Carlos Rodriguez writes "I just read at Games Are Fun that Square Enix has officially announced the first U.S.-based Final Fantasy Concert. Entitled 'Dear Friends', it will take place in Los Angeles at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this May 10th, and will feature melodies from the entire series composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu. This is the first Final Fantasy music event since 'Final Fantasy 20020220' took place on February 20th, 2002 and the first official Final Fantasy concert to take place outside Japan... It looks like fun! Anybody is planning to attend?"

Comments

im so there

[tokaok]

you can spot me in the crowd as ill be jumpin up and down pumping my arms in victory.

Re:im so there

[Tom Courtenay]

I almost added to your +4Funny, but wanted to reply instead. This is the funniest comment I've read on /. in a long, long time.

Besides, I'm sure someone else will mod you up, ya?

Re:im so there

[erpbridge]

And who will you be cosplaying as?

Re:im so there

[Cosmik]

Just be aware of the fat sweaty guy in the Chocobo suit, asking people to "ride" him.

Re:im so there

[Delita]

I can't afford to cosplay as anyone from Final Fantasy, so I'll just put on a /. t-shirt and cosplay as a geek.

Re:im so there

[Night Goat]

Funniest thing I've read on Slashdot in a while. Nice.

That's smooth!

[Lord Graga]

SquareSoft RPG's has allways got some of the best quality music that I have ever heard. Not just the music from Final Fantasy, but also a lot of music from games like Chrono Trigger.

Re:That's smooth!

[Bagels]

Mind you, a lot of Chrono Trigger's music was done by Yasunori Mitsuda, not Nobuo Uematsu (who did all the music for this particular concert). And I like Mitsuda's work better :). Mitsuda's work can also be found in Chrono Cross, Xenogears, and Xenosaga.

Re:That's smooth!

[Reorax]

I perfectly agree with what you said about Mitsuda. Everyone needs to go get the Xenogears soundtrack right now. Or at least get some of the tracks. June Mermaid, Small of Two Pieces, and Awakening, especially. It's too bad he left the Xenosaga project. Maybe he's busy trying to put together a concert.

I would love to go

[thelenm]

I would love to go to this. Of course, I'm probably the exact person they're targeting... I have about 20 Final Fantasy soundtrack CDs, including all the piano collections, remixes and all that. It makes nice background music while coding, so I listen to them all the time. And almost makes me feel like I'm playing video games, which is nice :-)

Re:I would love to go

[Meiyo Neko]

Nobuo Uematsu makes the best background music.
It's gotten to the point where I measure the amount of time I've been studying for an exam in FF CDs.

Re:I would love to go

[GTRacer]

I have about 20 Final Fantasy soundtrack CDs...

Out of curiosity, and no, I'm not flaming, are those legit OSTs or are they Son May/EverAnime/etc. discs?

I ask because I've been wanting to get more game-based OSTs and the legit ones are crazy expensive! Do you know a good site or store to order from (both in terms of price and reliability)?

GTRacer
- Long Live the Music!

Re:I would love to go

[Haikiba]

I've gotten all 11 Final fantasy OSTs through AnimeNation. They may cost more, but their reliability is top-notch.

Re:I would love to go

[Anonymous Coward]

I have about 20 Final Fantasy soundtrack CDs, including all the piano collections, remixes and all that.

got any torrents? pleeeeaaaase!

Re:I would love to go

[thelenm]

They're mostly EverAnime discs I got off eBay over the last few years. But they're not too bad quality, I don't think. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good place to get them... the guy I bought most of the discs from apparently died in a car accident last year.

Re:I would love to go

[DLWormwood]

Tom, is that you?

John could hear the ghost of video game music from the kid's headphones. He wasn't actually playing games -- John had checked on that personally -- he was just listening to the soundtracks. That was only the most superficial evidence of Tom's deeply flawed psychology, but John was the only one who seemed concerned.

Not that I should criticize... To my horror, I recognized the music some music from FF playing in a software store the other day... The horror was from remembering that it was from the Auction House in FF 3/6j. I haven't played that since high school, yet I remembered listening to that melody for hours on end just to get Magicite shards...

Re:I would love to go

[May Kasahara]

Try GameMusic.com. I recently got the FF7 Piano Collections there. The prices are pretty good... for Japanese imports (admit it-- you're always going to have to pay through the nose for the legit stuff), and the shipping's prompt, too.

Re:I would love to go

[2nd Post!]

So you're saying... when Square was in debt... and had to go to Enix for help.. you were part of the problem? :P

Seriously though, if you really *love* the music, why aren't you giving any cash to Square?

Re:I would love to go

[thelenm]

Hey, I didn't know! I was young and innocent then. All I saw was Final Fantasy music on CD and my excitement blinded me to all else :-)

Re:I would love to go

[2nd Post!]

Haha, I'm just joking.

I've bought a couple SonMay in my time, when I thought it was a good deal... but after I found out, I stopped buying.

Not because I'm rich, but because I think if I love something, I shouldn't be cheating them. So I buy my music legit, mostly. I have a few odd unbought tracks, but as I earn money I put my money where my mouth is ^^

Or rather, my ears

Re:I would love to go

[Moofie]

If Square wanted my money, they would have sold the discs in my country, and not let importers scalp for two or three times the price of a regular CD.

So, in other words, eat my shorts. I feel no obligation whatsoever to pay obscene prices for imports when I can get the same (or at least a satisfactory) product for a reasonable price through other means.

Re:I would love to go

[2nd Post!]

What, two wrongs make a right? Just because Square doesn't do something right means you don't have to do something right?

The issue is at least as much the purchasers as it is the producers in any transaction, isn't it?

Re:I would love to go

[Moofie]

I didn't say Square did anything wrong. They're free to not want my money. However, I don't see anything wrong with buying the album from another (reasonably priced) source.

They decided they didn't want to sell me something. After that, why do they care what I do?

Re:I would love to go

[2nd Post!]

The question is what do you care what you do?

I guess you don't care... I do

I import the soundtracks because that's important to me. I like the music and games Square make, so I would like to see more, right?

Your way, if I followed it, they would have less incentive to do so... But that's my thought.

Re:I would love to go

[Moofie]

I buy the games they want to sell me. I decline to patronize the scalpers. If they want my business, sell stuff in a store near me. Don't expect me to pay double for the privilege of buying your wares, because I won't do it.

Re:I would love to go

[2nd Post!]

Am I not being understood?

I never expected you to pay double for the imported (scalped? Why do you call it that? Are Ferrari's imported into the US scalped?) goods.

I think I mean that if you wouldn't buy the originals (scalped, as you put it) you shouldn't be buying the knockoffs. The concept of tit for tat exists, and if we/you/I can't be expected to live by some set of expected behaviors, we can't and shouldn't expect anyone else to either.

This means of course people downloading music they can't afford, with the logic that they can't afford it, but they *can* afford the downloaded version, people using pirated software for the same reason, or buying knockoff VCDs, or pirated DVDs... It's not like it's one way here. Our movies, games, and products are heavily pirated around the world too. But if you think that's okay, then that also justifies your behavior in buying knockoffs.

Re:I would love to go

[Moofie]

A Ferrari has more value than a Ford.

An imported CD has no more value than a grey-market one, yet costs 2-3x as much. Square has already decided that they don't want my money. They don'w want my custom. They have told me to screw off.

I don't see anything at all wrong with paying somebody a reasonable fee to get the music I want. I don't care if it's Square or somebody else.

The situation with Macross toys is exactly the same. There's a firm called Big West that has embargoed the United States access to the Macross toys, because they own the copyright on those toy designs. For many, many years, you were not allowed to buy these toys in America, because Big West wouldn't produce any, and wouldn't allow anybody else to import them into the US. I bought a few imports, because I thought they were cool. Am I stealing from Big West, because I'm illegally obtaining their intellectual property? No. Big West needs to shit or get off the pot. I believe that if they're not selling a product, they have no business preventing me from accessing another product that they do not sanction.

I think the cost of piracy is wildly overrated buy business. I don't believe it's nearly as costly as they would have us believe.

I think that the case is even clearer with imports (where I'd be delighted to pay for legit product, if it were available).

You are welcome to your opinion. I do not share it.

Re:I would love to go

[Anonymous Coward]

www.gamemusic.com

Re:BFD

[CashCarSTAR]

Is Classical a style? Or is classical just when something has dust on it? Generally speaking, classical is a style, at least a broad-genre. Usually referring to orchastral/instrumental type music. The FF music, for the most part is indeed classical. Although I would say some things go into electronic or the odd song straight out rock.

Chocobo Beats

[superpulpsicle]

Yes I can finally do the Chocobo dance in public and not be laughed at.

It looks like Moonwalk + Macarena + I am too sexy by Right said Fred.

Will there be a CD from the live performance?

[darkmayo]

Would love to go to something like this but it will never happen. A chance to hear some of these great themes, songs and what not played out by a live orchestra would be great.

Some of those songs always give me a nice feeling when I hear them(Crystal Theme for example)

Re:Will there be a CD from the live performance?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wonder if they are going release them copy-protected as well.

Just about all of their recent soundtracks have been copy-protected. Too bad the stupid copy-protection schemes are still in use and "popular" in Japan. Unlike here in the US, there dosn't seem to be an end to this anytime soon.

Re:Will there be a CD from the live performance?

[May Kasahara]

If you can find it, check out 20020220: Music From Final Fantasy-- it's the live concert album from the Tokyo performance mentioned in the post (I believe there's a review to the album linked there as well). It is absolutely brilliant, though one could make the argument that the pieces chosen are the more popular ones (how many more arrangements of Aerith's Theme does anyone need?!).

And if you're anything like me, listening to that album will only make you want to go the the L.A. concert even more...

Re:Will there be a CD from the live performance?

[YomikoReadman]

Just out of Curiosity, when you say Crystal Theme, are you referring to Prelude? For reference, it's played over the credits in the beginning of FFVII.

As for a cd of this, I believe that one was made in limited edition for the Japanese concert.

My wife told me of this this morning

[dacarr]

We both wish we had the money for this. =(

flamebait

[mwheeler01]

Disclaimer: Do not read if you blindly buy anything Square Enix regurgitates.

Am I the only one that can't stomach music that's been so commercially manufactured like this. Granted FF has some good sound tracks but the music for it's own sake is just awful.

Go ahead mod me down but I seem to remember this being a forum for discussion, not to tout a prevailing opinion.

Re:flamebait

[Ykant]

I seem to remember this being a forum for discussion, not to tout a prevailing opinion.

Slashdot?

Re:flamebait

[eunos94]

Ok, I won't tout prevailing opinion, but I will disagree with you.

Uematsu is an exceptionally talented composer. The themes and motifs that he created for the FF series and other games are argueably some of the better for the entertainment industry. After several years of studying music in college and still having many friends and colleagues who are professional writers/arrangers, I can say that his music would stand up in any concert hall against most of todays prominent orchestral composers.

Now, the one coveat to all of this is that Uematsu needs to arrange the works for the appropriate ensemble. For a looped track in a game that could go on forever, the game system audio tracks are great. However, for an orchestral suite, there is a lot of work involved to properly craft it to that venue.

There are some previous FF works arranged for orchestra and performed in Japan and to the average non-gamer they sound just like a Hollywood soundtrack (in the best sense of that phrase, not in the soundtrack to You Got Served sort of way). A concert of his works is completely appropriate and I applaud them for bringing quality, modern soundtrack music to our concert halls.

Re:flamebait

[Oz0ne]

You're thinking of another forum clearly. This forum is for spreading a few prevailing opinions that aren't founded in reason or logic of any sort.

Re:flamebait

[mwheeler01]

Well I respect your opinion though I do not share it. I hope others will follow this example. Yay for free speech!

Re:flamebait

[Mr. Piddle]

Am I the only one that can't stomach music that's been so commercially manufactured like this.

It depends. Game and movie "mood music" is always terrible (like with porno music, you have to wonder why they even bother). However, especially with the more recent game consoles, some of the music in modern games is absolutely amazing and can compare favorably to well-regarded classical music. I remember one song from FF8 that not only set the mood perfectly but it was hauntingly good and reflects highly on the person who composed it.

Re:flamebait

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think Uematsu does any of the arrangements for the orchestral concerts in Japan. IIRC someone else has that job. Perhaps his lack of formal music training shines through?

Re:flamebait

[eunos94]

I am unaware if he does do the arrangements, but it would not detract from his skill if others were responsible for them. Good arrangements of bad music are still bad music. It takes quality source music to produce quality arrangements. Like the old saying says "You can dress a pig up in fine clothing, but it is still just a pig."

Up next: Windows XP Concert

[AtariAmarok]

The first band signed up for the concert is "Billy Crash and the Blue Sound of Death". with their hit ode to the most popular Windows app of all time:

"And Solitaire's the only game in town,
Every other thing he tries to run shuts down.
as any serious app brings up ABEND,
he'll never try again.
And keeping to himself he plays the game,
The other programs all blue-screen the same.
'Cause the errors are much than he can bear,
he's playing Solitaire."

What about Disney World in Orlando?!!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Any hope of this coming to the Disney in Orlando? Would be very convenient to me... since you know... I live in central FL :(

Re:BFD

[n3k5]

Classic is not a broad genre, it is a certain period of music history, like baroque or rococo. While it is true that musicians back then didn't have electric guitars or synthesizers, it doesn't really have anything to do with referring to orchestral or instrumental music in particular. The term is _also_ used for music that is much _like_ classical music, and for lots of other things, in a metaphorical sense.

So...

[herrvinny]

...We have to go all the way to Los Angeles for this concert. Why can't they move it somewhere closer to the Midwest (hint: Illinois/Wisconsin)

Re:So...

[chrismcdirty]

Probably because it's being held at the same time as the E3 trade show. So the people visiting to see E3 can take a break from the craziness and check it out.

No thanks!

[gothrus]

I'm waiting for the Burgertime concert.

Concert lines up with E3 Expo

[bgrier]

Yep, with the Electronic Entertainment Expo happening following the concert, I can't think of a better way to spend some time in LA...if you have to do time in LA, that is.

FFV album

[SpikeSpiegal]

I am so going to this, then 2 days after is E3. HELL YEA.

But just incased people didn't know Dear Friends was the name of a Japanese released FFV music CD. Where they orchastrated Final Fantasy V. It sounds awesome, if anyone wants any previews for it, I might put some tracks secretly on www.shadowgt.com

Re:FFV album

[Anonymous Coward]

I might put some tracks secretly on www.shadowgt.com

Not much of a secret now, is it :)

Interestingly, I went to the site statistic page, and reloaded it, and noticed the Netscape browser count go up... I wonder if we ALL went there, and reloaded it to hell and back, we could make it look like its IE that only has 10% or so of the browser market... [Evil FF Bad Guy Laugh]

Re:FFV album

[Webapprentice]

The album is not just orchestral music but also world music. There are quite a few different music styles employed on Dear Friends. It not purely orchestral.

Re:FFV album

[May Kasahara]

Another Dear Friends fan! Yay!! ^_^

Dear Friends does sound awesome, I'll agree. Along with The Black Mages, it's one of my favorite FF arrange albums. The music from FF5 was always a bit underrated, IMHO...

(Do you by chance know what that other language is that's sung in "My Home, Sweet Home"? I think it might be Finnish, but I'm not sure...)

Re:FFV album

[Daetrin]

Black Mages is awesome, although there are a lot of songs that they missed that i'd like to hear a hard rock rendition of. Hopefully there will be a Black Mages 2 or some such.

Have you looked around OC Remix? It's got tons of remixes from all kinds of video games, including a ton from (most of) the FF games.

I assumed that the language was gaelic, for no good reason. Hmmm *googles* at first glance the consensus seems to be that it's Saami, "1. A member of a people of nomadic herding tradition inhabiting Lapland. 2. Any of the Finnic languages of the Sami." So it would seem that you're mostly right.

Re:FFV album

[May Kasahara]

Yeah, I very much agree with you about Black Mages, and I hope they do put out a sequel (there's enough good battle themes that they missed the first time around to warrant it...). I do check out OC Remix every so often; some of the FF stuff is great, but I have a particular liking for the Sonic remixes :) VGMix has some good stuff as well-- not as much as OC Remix, but still worth checking out.

I'd assumed the language was Finnish since a good chunk of the album was recorded in Helsinki. Thanks for the info!

Re:What ?? !!

[Anonymous Coward]

The nerds will surely win.

if you want game music....

[RegalBegal]

check out the minibosses. 8-bit nintendo tunes done with two guitars bass and drums. minibosses.com. They have a few songs up for download and are releasing an album relatively soon. They came around here once and the show was real fun. Their version of the Castlevania series is some great stuff.

Re:the first thing that comes to mind

[Anonymous Coward]

Hahahaha! It sucks that that's so true now a days. I guess pretty much every Final Fantasy after 7 was "mainstream", but tell that to the bastards that called me a geek in school when I was playing in the days of the SNES.

It may be mainstream now, but it certainly has it's roots in the deepest geek culture you can find.

Makes me sad... :(

VGM Recognition

[CelticWhisper]

Well lord knows I'm no fan of Final Fantasy, and in fact have some choice words to say about Squaresoft as a whole, but one place I do not discriminate is in video game music. By far my favorite genre, I'm truly surprised that VGM hasn't already made a bigger hit here in the States, what with games becoming so mainstream nowadays. It's truly great stuff (usually-like any genre, there are always a few stinkers), far better than anything the RIAA churns out, and deserves this kind of recognition.

Who knows-if this is a big enough hit, I might be able to go to Borders and buy the Phantasy Star Online episode 3 OST along with my next book on Perl-as someone said before, great background music for coding.

This just might be the ticket to getting video game music the recognition it deserves here. Let's hope.

Places to buy legit game music

[Webapprentice]

Sorry, I can't do a thing about the prices. Japan is expensive.

http://www.cocoebiz.com (in Japan; has English website; sells some not-often heard soundtracks)

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp (in Japan, but they speak English fluently and have an English website)

http://www.gamemusic.com (in the U.S.)

All of these are reliable. I've bought from all of them.

Nobuo's music

[Webapprentice]

I think Nobuo is a decent composer, but I definitely don't agree with his instrument choice. The instrument samples are from older synths, and he did state in an interview that he chooses those, because he is familiar with the older synthesizers. Nobuo does not have a formal music degree.

I don't think you've heard of arranged FF music. Some of the arrangments are truly fantastic and really make his composition shine through. I just wish they would use that kind of instrumentation for FF games.

Re:What ?? !!

[Pluvius]

I agree, and I'm a Final Fantasy fan!

Rob (Why would you pay to listen to video game music?)

Re:BFD

[Mr. Piddle]

Classical is mostly what I call things that are both good and not popular (the exact opposite of modern "pop" music, by definition). It is extremely broad in scope covering everything from Vivaldi (over 400 years ago) to, well, Final Fantasy (last year). Also, not only does "Classical" span at least four centuries, it spans every populated continent on Earth but with a concentration on Europe, including Russia. One reason there is no "bad" Classical music is, simply, that everyone has stopped listening to what wasn't good (i.e., history has filtered out all the "one hit wonder" composers leaving us with Bach, for example).

If they don't play Battle with Gilgamesh....

[Anonymous Coward]

....then you will know me by the trail of dead I will leave in my wake as I leave the auditorium.

Yes, I will be bringing my air guitar. No, you will not be allowed to touch it.

Great stuff.

[CashCarSTAR]

This stuff takes up permament places in my playlist. I have a good sound system..a lot of stuff doesn't stand up to the close scrutiny, but the amount of depth in these songs sure do, especially the newer ones (see X).

If you want to check it out, check out Someday The Dream Will End, or Auron's Theme from FF X. Just amazing music.

Damn you all to hell ...

[BorgCopyeditor]

... for making this go through my head after it had just got unstuck:

I know, I know, a
world of real emotion is sur-
rounding me, I
won't give in to it
now, I know that
forward is the only way my
heart can go, I
hear your voice calling out.

This is now in constant loop. Thanks a lot!!!

Australian FF concert

[evilhayama]

A few months back I went to a Final Fantasy concert held by these guys in Sydney. Overall it was pretty good, although most most people with some knowledge of music were cringing at the mistakes. I think a concert arranged by Nobuo Uematsu would probably be more professional.

nooo

[illumina us]

why L.A.??? there should be an FF Concert tour across the US

Re:nooo

[Anonymous Coward]

Why U.S.??? there should be an FF Concert tour across the world

Typical self-centred American.

Re:nooo

[illumina us]

agreed. however, most of the fan base is in the US and Japan. but yes... the world!!!!!!!

Coding

[jonathan_the_ninja]

I always listen to the FF4 soundtrack when I'm coding. It produces superior programs.

Well....

[jonathan_the_ninja]

You can get the VGM (Video Game Music) files from Zophar's Domain (just go to the music section, they are files dumped from an emulator) and then just download Winamp and the correct plugins to play the files, and/or dump them to WAV files, or WMAs, etc. (you can get plugins for XMMS, too) Although I would absolutely LOOOVE to get the legitly, I just don't have the money, but it is more ethical to get the VGMs than to get pirated CDs.

Re:YHBT YHL HAND

[Anonymous Coward]

bullshit, I was just bored.