The Pre-Summer Final Fantasy Concert Update
Last time around, the news for Distant Worlds, the older, larger brother among the concert series, was thin: just one new date, July 23 in Houston. There are four more shows to speak of now, from September to January of next year. Dallas will get two shows on September 2 and 3, with Susan Calloway in the concert hall to provide vocals. A week later, on September 10, the series will arrive in Phoenix, again with Calloway in tow. It appears that Final Fantasy VII's "Cosmo Canyon" will appear in both setlists, which is something I'm not familiar with having happened before.
The last new show will not be until January 28 (at least until they start backfilling some of the gaps, which they often do). That show will be in Newark, New Jersey, and will have Nobuo Uematsu in the crowd.
As I've mentioned before, we're going to see more and more concerts in the A New World concert series, as it's a little easier to put on a show that requires a smaller set of players and a smaller venue. Beyond the shows already announced, there are now five more coming:
- Madison, Wisconsin: September 16
- Ann Arbor, Michigan: October 28
- Grand Rapids, Michigan: October 29
- Indianapolis, Indiana: November 18
- Quebec City, Quebec
Source: Distant Worlds, A New World
Posted in: Square-Enix News, North America
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Rangers51 |
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Comments
| AltheaValara | Comment 1: 2016-06-11 01:57 |
| I'm going to the Madison show! It will be my seventh Final Fantasy concert, and my first time seeing A New World. I'm excited! I'll post a review here afterwards. | |
| Rangers51 | Comment 2: 2016-06-11 02:14 |
| Wow, that's crazy. I've only been able to go to one Distant Worlds show - how do you manage to see so many? | |
| AltheaValara | Comment 3: 2016-06-11 16:46 |
| I live in the suburbs of Chicago, and Chicago has been fortunate enough to have a lot of Distant Worlds concerts, probably because Arnie Roth is from Chicago, if I recall correctly. Though actually the first Final Fantasy concert I went to was Dear Friends in Detroit. I had missed it when it came to Chicago due to another appointment, and I was so afraid they wouldn't have another concert that I decided to go out of town to see it. My trip to Detroit was fantastic, and the guitarist they had on Vamo Alla Flamenco & Dear Friends was the best I've ever seen. It does help that my mom loves Final Fantasy music, too, so she pays to see the concerts.  It's kind of a funny story: I told her I was going to Detroit to see a concert of video game music, and she just couldn't wrap her head around it. "Is it outside?" she asked, probably thinking it was a rock concert. I explained it was at the symphony hall, and gave her a copy of the Symphonic Suite to listen to. She called me the next day raving about the CD, saying she was sad when it ended because she was enjoying it so much. | |
| Rangers51 | Comment 4: 2016-06-11 21:10 |
| Ah, that makes sense, then, there are a lot of options near Chicago. You could even do the New World performances in Michigan! As I mentioned in the last thread, I'm missing two chances this year because they're coming to places I used to live. It's why I jumped at the chance for Boston last year even though it required me to do a three hour round trip on a work night.  | |
| AltheaValara | Comment 5: 2016-09-17 19:20 |
| The Madison show of A New World was last night, and as promised, here is my review. I brought my Moogle amigurumi along, and got some compliments on it. There was the usual merchandise table. Unlike the last Distant Worlds concert I went to, it was not mobbed when we got there, so I was able to have a close look. I was tempted by Distant Worlds III, which I don't have yet. If my financial situation was different I wouldn't have hesitated to buy it, but I currently don't have any income. I did recently get some money for my birthday, but... well, I have a TON of Final Fantasy music already, and I've been playing FFXII and enjoying it enough to want to buy Revenant Wings, so I'm going to spend my birthday money on that, instead. And more yarn, as I've used up a lot of my stash recently on making Final Fantasy amigurumi. The venue was the Madison Masonic center, which was nice. We ordered our tickets about an hour after they went on sale, so we had the sixth row on the main floor, which turned out to be folding chairs. But nice ones -- they were padded and had those white cloths covering them. The venue was small enough that the conductor, Eric Roth, did not have to use a microphone. Intimate, indeed! For your listening pleasure I'll link to YouTube videos of all the songs. ANW = from A New World: Live from London; DW - from a Distant Worlds concert, OST = original soundtrack. They opened with The Decisive Battle (ANW) from Final Fantasy VI, one of the announced pieces. This was a good opening - snappy and bouncy, a good theme. Next was a traditional song played at the concerts: Victory Fanfare (DW). That always gets good applause. Third up was Sarutabaruta (OST) from Final Fantasy XI. I was a bit confused when they played this, as they had announced that they were going to be playing Selbina, so I was surprised when he said Sarutabaruta. I enjoyed this though, because it wasn't Ronfaure (DW)! Don't get me wrong, I do like the Ronfaure theme, but it's been played at Distant Worlds several times, and well, Ronfaure is the region outside of the Kingdom of San d'Oria, my least favorite city in FFXI. Anyway, Eric Roth specifically mentioned several times that A New World allows them to play more delicate pieces, and Sarutabaruta definitely fits that bill. It was a lovely rendition. Next up was the first piano solo by Benyamin Nuss, the Final Battle Theme from FFX (OST). Benyamin is a terrific piano player, and this was very well done. Then it was Town from FFI (ANW), another delicate piece. It goes to show how songs from even the original game hold up well. This is one of my favorites. Next up was a huge favorite of mine and the one I was most wanting to hear, Fragments of Memories from FFVIII (ANW). If you've never heard the string quartet arrangement of this piece, definitely give it a listen: it's absolutely beautiful. I love this piece so much that I bought a cheap violin off eBay and downloaded a fan score of it so I could learn to play it. Still haven't done that, but... yeah. Beautiful! Eric Roth said that when planning these concerts, Uematsu-san insisted this piece be played. Thank you, Uematsu-san! Then it was the announced Selbina (OST), and this former FFXI player was happy to get two songs from its soundtrack. Selbina is a favorite of mine, as it's very snappy. Makes me want to do a jig. The arrangement for the concert did have some of that snappiness, but also was melodic at times. I enjoyed it, but think I like the OST version better,. Next up was Troia from FFIV (ANW). Now, I know a lot of the Final Fantasy songs by name, but this was one that I couldn't place but knew I would recognize when I heard it. It's another delicate piece, and they did a lovely job with it. Then it was another piano solo by Benny, Final Battle from Final Fantasy IX (FFIX piano collection). I like this song quite a bit, and again, he did a fantastic job with it. Next up was the concert's name, A New World from FFV (ANW). I'm a big fan of FFV, having played it many times thanks in part to the Four Job Fiesta. This is a great theme from the game, and well done. Final song before the intermission was the traditional end-of-first-half song, Chocobo Medley (ANW). This gets some laughs due to the kweh! sounds in it, and features Ukelele de Chocobo. Kinda funny: Eric Roth was listing all the different chocobo arrangments before they played it, and made up one, which if I recalled correctly was Ambiance de Chocobo. Perhaps a future name? Heh. The second half of the concert opened with one of my favorite themes, Rebel Army Theme from FFII (ANW). I love how proud this song is, and I love that the concert had this mix of old and new. Next up was another delicate piece, Home Sweet Home from FFV (OST), another favorite of mine. Then it was another piano solo, Those Who Fight from FFVII (ANW) because of course it was. Sigh. I've heard this song at concerts before, and while I like it, I'm a bit tired of it and was hoping something else would be played instead. What, I don't know, but something else would have been nice. But I do have to admit that it's a crowd favorite and there were people hearing it for the first time. And also, Benyamin is just that good that even though I'm tired of the song, I was still getting into it by the end of it. Next up was Ivalice Landscapes from FFXII. I'm in the midst of playing FFXII for the first time and really enjoying the game, so I was eager to hear this piece. I'd have to say, though, that if the Final Fantasy franchise has a weak point with its soundtracks, then FFXII is it. It's still really good, but I feel not as good as the rest of the series. The songs can be a bit... messy. This arrangement was messy, too: a conglomerate of a bunch of different themes from the game. I'm not familiar enough with the soundtrack to have picked them all out, but I did recognize Rabanastre (OST), plus they included my favorite, The Phon Coast (OST). While I did enjoy the arrangement because with the exception of Kiss Me Goodbye, I've never heard FFXII music in concert before, I felt it was the weakest piece of the concert. Then it was The Red Wings from FFIV (ANW). An enjoyable theme. Next up was another piece that Eric Roth pointed out that they can do in this concert that you wouldn't hear at Distant Worlds, Danger in the Forest from FFIX (OST). Another beautiful piece. Then it was The Moogle Theme (ANW). When introducing this piece, Eric Roth pronounced Moogle to rhyme with goggle. I pronounce it moo-gle, like a cow going moo. I wonder which is correct? Silly Eric described a moogle to us, like we all didn't know what it was. I held my moogle amigurumi up, but wasn't brave enough to hold it over my head. Now, there's a version of this theme on the Final Fantasy N Generation soundtrack that I absolutely HATE, because it is loud and brash, and I always skip it when I play that soundtrack. So this isn't a favorite track of mine. But it's really grown on me, and I no longer hate it. I'm sure there were many fans who were happy to hear it. Next up was the second song I was really wanting to hear, Fight With Seymour from FFX (ANW). Eric called it edgy, and it is that. I absolutely love this arrangement of it. It's so well done! Then it was a song that is often played at Distant Worlds, the crowd favorite Zanarkand (FFX) (ANW). Even though I've heard this many times before, I have a soft spot in my heart for it as it was the song that made me fall in love with Final Fantasy in the first place. I hadn't ever played the series before, but was dating a guy who was a big fan of it, and one night we went out and bought a PS2 and FFX. He put it in, and it was love at first sound. I went home that night and downloaded the song and sheet music for it. This arrangement was well done; the intimate arrangement made it fresh and new. Finally, they did Force Your Way from FFVIII (ANW). I've heard this in concert before, and sometimes it can sound a bit draggy, but this was not the case with the chamber arrangement. Very upbeat and moving, and well done. For an encore they did One-Winged Angel, because of course they did. I'm pretty resigned to the fact that I will hear this at every concert I go to, though frankly I'm a bit tired of it. But again, the chamber arrangement gave it new life, so I enjoyed it. It was a three-hour drive for us, so we stayed overnight and came home this morning. Definitely worth the drive. My poor parents, though--they were the oldest people there. Mom enjoyed it, because she's a big fan of the music, but I think my dad thought it was just okay. He felt he should be there because of the long drive, proving that chivalry isn't dead. What do you all think? Did you like these choices? Anything you would have liked to hear instead? | |
| Neal | Comment 6: 2016-09-19 13:56 |
| That sounds awesome! I need to keep my eyes open for shows like that. | |
| BlitzSage | Comment 7: 2016-09-20 01:42 |
| That does sound awesome. I should've stayed up there with my brother (who's going to college up there) and made him take me (though he knows nothing about Final Fantasy lol). | |
| Sephiroth | Comment 8: 2016-09-22 17:16 |
| I haven't been to a show since the Dear Friends tour wayyyyy back. I honestly didn't even realize they were still doing them. The Zelda concert going on is still pretty huge, but there's no mention in my circle of FF concerts anymore. And considering the line up they don't seem to be performing many places these days. Any mention of a FF concert that might be traveling south? I'm in Oklahoma City so I could make it to Dallas or Kansas... | |
| Rangers51 | Comment 9: 2016-09-22 19:48 |
Quote (Sephiroth @ 22nd September 2016 11:16) I haven't been to a show since the Dear Friends tour wayyyyy back. I honestly didn't even realize they were still doing them. The Zelda concert going on is still pretty huge, but there's no mention in my circle of FF concerts anymore. And considering the line up they don't seem to be performing many places these days. Any mention of a FF concert that might be traveling south? I'm in Oklahoma City so I could make it to Dallas or Kansas... One of the tours was in Overland Park, KS somewhat recently, I remember. I don't remember exactly when or whether it was DW or ANW, but I do remember that it annoyed me because I used to live there but didn't by the time they came around. They've also done Dallas and Houston both in the past - you just missed Dallas by a couple weeks, and Houston by a couple months - and they're not above revisiting past locales, so keep an eye out. I do try to post schedules whenever I get them. | |
| Rangers51 | Comment 10: 2016-11-16 20:27 |
| If you were thinking about getting tickets for the Newark show in January, they're now on sale and they added a second show. You can get tickets for either a 3pm matinee or the 8pm evening show. They also just published an excerpt from the program setlist that includes: FINAL FANTASY Series: Battle Medley I - XIV FINAL FANTASY VII: Cosmo Canyon FINAL FANTASY VII: JENOVA COMPLETE FINAL FANTASY XIV: Dragonsong, featuring Susan Calloway FINAL FANTASY XIV: Answers, featuring Susan Calloway FINAL FANTASY XII: The Dalmasca Estersand | |
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©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
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©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.