Category — Live music
John Williams played at the Sydney Opera House
I had the pleasure of spending Saturday night at the Sydney Opera House watching a performance of the amazing John Williams movie music with Heather.
The music was led in by the host, Guy Noble. He introduced every piece, making them slightly more magical. He also added a light note to everything, highlighting the elements of humour in the films, and by enacting a day through pieces from Psycho and Jaws. He also came onto the stage in a Superman Outfit - of sorts, although I don’t remember Clark Kent wearing black shoes and socks with the ‘S’ on - and a Darth Vader costume - guess which music they were for…
Arnie Roth flew in from Los Angeles to conduct the piece. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him for the Play, A Video Game Symphony.
The evening was led in with the music from the Olympic Fanfare, followed by other timeless classics such as Superman, ET and one of my favourites, Indiana Jones.
At half time, as we wandered out, we were greeted by Storm Troopers and Tie Fighter pilots.
This led perfectly into the second half. The Star Wars pieces! I wasn’t expecting so much music from the trilogy, but I’m glad they did. The force and power that music envelops is simple staggering. It was truly amazing hearing the Main Star Wars Theme and Imperial March. But, as enjoyable as they were, the Duel of the Fates and Across the Stars from episodes 1 & 2 stole the show! I’ve always thought they were good, but being there with the Orchestra really bought the pieces to life.
When we thought it couldn’t get any better, a small band was put together to play the famous Cantina music from Episode 1. It was a delight and made such a change to the rest of the scores. The night ended with a piece from Harry Potter.
If you ever get the chance to see John William’s music performed by an Orchestra - especially one as good as the Sydney Symphony - do it. You won’t regret, even if you think it’s a little geeky or strange. Trust me!
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December 1, 2007 No Comments
Play, A video Game Symphony performed at the Sydney Opera House
Ok, I will confess to being slightly geeky at times. Ok, very geeky at times. But I’m also a big music fan, so games with top-notch soundtracks are naturally appealing to me. One of my favourite pieces of music is from the game Halo, written and composed my Martin O’Donnell. For those that have never heard it, you should try and check it out. It’s epic music for an epic game, eclipsing a lot of movie music, and is backed by a choir.
So, when I heard about Play, a Video Game Symphony was coming to Sydney Opera House, and would feature Halo, I jumped at the chance to hear such an amazing piece performed by one of the best Symphony Orchestras, the Sydney Symphony. It was conducted by Arnie Roth, who is also the director of the performances.
When the performance started, the first piece was Super Mario Bros. Now, you can imagine the laugh that went up when that famous tune started up. But the laughter was quickly replaced by awe as you realise what an amazing sound it was when performed this way.
It moved on through the pieces, many of which were great. But two pieces that really blew me away were from the Final Fantasy games, written by Nobuo Uematsu. One featured the entire Orchestra, a backing choir and the Grand Organ. The sound was just staggering. You were just pounded by the most powerful, wonderful music. The hair’s on the back of your neck standing on end. The organ player’s hands were a blur as he tried to keep up with the frantic pace of the music.
When Silent Hill was performed, the composer, Akira Yamaoka, came on stage with his Electric Guitar. Having already been treated to the Final Fantasy sound, we were then pummelled by this feast of auditory pleasure. That’s the only way I can describe it. It was so unexpected and so wonderful to hear this modern instrument played in perfect synergy with the Orchestra!
And then on to what was probably my favourite piece of the night. A suite of music from Castlevania - I’ve been trying to find out if it’s an actual piece, or one the conductor had put together for the show. Again, the Organ came into play, and again, the organ player was amazing. I only wish there’d been more pieces for him to have delighted our ears with!
I will however confess to being ever so slightly disappointed with the Halo performance. It was performed amazingly, apart from one key instrument. near the beginning there’s some bongo’s that are played softly, but in the performance, they were just too strong and over-powered the subtle sound that should have been there. But it was as good as I hoped other than that.
There were other classic songs, such as Sonic, and Zelda was kept until very near the end. Again raising chuckles from the crowd.
It was a simply awesome experience. And anyone who’s into their epic computer games, or thinks that hearing some of their childhood favourite games played live on stage would be something to behold, then go. If anyone else wants to hear something truly epic, and worthy of more attention, then go. I promise you will not regret it!
June 26, 2007 No Comments
U2 Vertigo tour 2006, live at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium
It’s always been a dream of mine to see U2 live in concert. And, when they announced they were playing an extra night at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium, I managed to get hold of some tickets. My dream was coming true.
So, accompanied by my friend Heather, we went and saw the most amazing show I’ve ever seen! Kanye West was the supporting act - I will confess, Heather had to tell me who he was… But when he started singing, I instantly recognized the songs. I did think that he was a slightly odd artist to start the performance, but he a big supporter of the make poverty history movement.
And then U2 came on… Wow! They lived up to all my expectations! And the light show was simply phenomenal. Well, if you can call it a light show. It was more like a giant TV screen, dancing to the music, showing the band members and other imagery.
But the highlight was the music. The new stuff was great, but when the all time classics such as “Where the streets have no name” and “With or without you came on”, you just felt a tingle run through your body! It was a night neither of use will forget in a hurry!
If you ever get the chance to see U2 live, do not turn it down!
Links
Make Poverty History
Official U2 Website
November 13, 2006 No Comments