Video Game Orchestra (VGO) - Boston, October 7th

I am extremely excited for this show for a lots of reasons, including getting to meet Sakimoto and getting to see Miker (whom I haven't seen since the last VGO show we went to which was back in... November of 2009? Whenever Wataru Hokoyama was here). I don't want to get my hopes up for what they will and won't play (I'm betting on a suite or a few pieces from each composer's history along with a chunk of the usual stuff), but I would be very pleased if they tackled ANYTHING from Vagrant Story ("Staff Roll" seems obvious - fingers crossed!). I am excited and grateful, regardless.

Also, Pat: I hope I can, at the very least, give you a high five in person!

I'll be going.  Silently judging the shit out of people.  Or maybe not so silently, depending on how ::facepalm:: they are.

I just checked Google Earth and the Boston Symphony Hall is 1216 miles from my place. The estimated drive time is 20 hours. I'd love to go, but that's no jaunt.

Last night, VGO confirmed via their official Twitter account that they'll be performing a 14 minute Grandia medley, arranged by Iwadare himself.

https://twitter.com/theVGO/status/239498861343801344

Vampire Killer from Castlevania has also been confirmed.

https://twitter.com/theVGO/status/239635430222487553

Crash wrote:

Ramza,

If you really want to bring a copy of Esper Dream to have signed, I could send you my copy

If you send it, I'll get it signed and sent back to you (with a metric ton of bubble wrap).

PMing you now.

James O wrote:

What's the item signing etiquette at these types of events?  One/two items?  three pushing it?

Beats me, but I'm going to take off my shirt and make Sakimoto sign my chest.

There's now a Kickstarter page regarding this event.  If they raise $30,000 or more, the show will be professionally recorded and released on CD, "presented with first class art and premium booklet."  Rewards such as a signed CD, making-of video, t-shirt, show tickets, etc. are available depending on how much you pledge.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vgo … hall-album

Last edited by the_miker (Aug 29, 2012)

never heard anything of these guys, and the video is not working for me currently. castlevania and grandia are very welcome, but i don't need more final fantasy clutter.

LiquidAcid wrote:

I'm tempted to pledge for this project, but at least two things scare me off at the moment:
(1) Rockestral -- this brings bad memories (something involving this Tallarico guy...)

Surf Rock de Chocobo (5/23/2009 @ Anime Boston).  This video doesn't have the greatest audio quality but it's a good representation of their "rockestral" pieces.  I love how much fun they have on stage, you can tell they're really passionate about what they're playing.  I was at this show!

LiquidAcid wrote:

(2) The project description doesn't even mention Grandia, which would be my main reason for supporting this...

The campaign funds will go toward recording and releasing the October 7th show on CD.  VGO previously confirmed on Twitter that there will be a 14 minute Grandia medley performed at the show, arranged by Iwadare himself.

Last edited by the_miker (Aug 30, 2012)

the_miker wrote:

Surf Rock de Chocobo (5/23/2009 @ Anime Boston).  This video doesn't have the greatest audio quality but it's a good representation of their "rockestral" pieces.  I love how much fun they have on stage, you can tell they're really passionate about what they're playing.  I was at this show!

Thanks for the link. This was already like I feared. Like you pointed out, this is appears to be more a show than a concert. Call me a purist, but I don't think that highly of these kind of "crossovers". Light show (not here, but in other clips from their YT channel), big screen, calling out performers, showing off on stage, etc. -- this doesn't have a place in a orchestral concert (IMHO).

I don't know if they're keeping this style also for upcoming event, but with my current knowledge I don't think I'm gonna be interested in this at all. I can just hope they don't mess up Grandia's music.

LiquidAcid wrote:

The campaign funds will go toward recording and releasing the October 7th show on CD.  VGO previously confirmed on Twitter that there will be a 14 minute Grandia medley performed at the show, arranged by Iwadare himself.

I'm aware of that Twitter announcement. But in my opinion information like that should be put up on the project page. If they want people to support this, they should make it transparent what to expect on that live recording.

Current we've got this on the project page:

VGO wrote:

Our Goal: We are aiming for $30,000 to deliver an album with the most exciting arrangements of your video game music favorites, including Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Castlevania, and more, presented with first class art and premium booklet. We hope to release the album by April, 2013.

This has almost no informative value. It mentions the "big ones" to draw attention, yes. But that's marketing. What I'd like to see is at least some game breakdown.

Last edited by LiquidAcid (Aug 31, 2012)

From the FAQ:

Everything recorded during concerts will be edited and mixed properly for the album except for the MC part. But still, who doesn't love some crowd-cheering/clapping sounds from a live concert? We sure will keep those. So if you are attending the event, shout out! That definitely won't be cut out. : )

Maybe I'm getting old, but seriously, WTF?!? There's a certain etiquette on how to behave in a (symphonic) concert hall. And it certainly doesn't involve the audience to sing along with the performers...

Count me out...

Etiquette is based entirely on context. If the audience is supposed to, encouraged to, or allowed to participate... then no problem. There's no magical, universal "etiquette" for symphonic concerts that I'm aware of (and I've been to way more than my fair share). If a more casual experience isn't your thing, then that's fine. Stick to attending formal events. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with a casual atmosphere. Honestly, I know where people get those misconceptions, but they really need to go away. Symphonic =/= formal. >_<