When it comes to the video game series Final Fantasy, the music is just as important to any visuals on the screen. Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for many of the entries in the series, has put together some wonderful tracks over the years and Distant Worlds travels the world celebrating that.
I’ve seen two other Final Fantasy concerts in the past 10 months, neither being Distant Worlds that’s been traveling the world for nine years (nine years and it was the first time they visited Phoenix!). I was pretty pumped to experience Distant Worlds and for the most part, it didn’t disappoint.
The concert combined visuals from the various games of the series with the musical force of the Phoenix Symphony. We were taken through some of the classic tracks of the earlier games of Final Fantasy as well as tracks from the newer games such as XIII and XIV. We were also treated to several performances from vocalist Susan Calloway who did an amazing job. We got several Final Fantasy VII performances because as conductor Arnie Roth explained, they’ll be playing more from the game as the Remake release nears. My only complaint was the track selection, I just wanted some love for my favorite entry, Final Fantasy IV but hey, we got an awesome medley to VI which I was happy about.
The Phoenix Symphony does quite a bit of performances that center around pop culture and they have another one coming up in November for The Legend of Zelda which I’m also excited for. I highly recommend catching Distant Worlds if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy, it will more than likely give you a trip down memory lane.
Legion of Sand 