Cross posted from LJ for safekeeping here.

Between yesterday and today I’ve had about four hours of sleep and spent at least 24 of those hours surrounded by people, rushing about, handling cash, unpacking drinks, more rushing, cutting up lots of little bits of paper and, well, rushing about. This was because Fiona and I volunteered to take part in a symphonic concert, A Night in Fantasia; a concert of Studio Ghibli and Final Fantasy music. But even though these tedious chores form the bulk of those long hours, a couple of things made it totally, ABSOLUTELY worth it.


1. Fiona and I met Nobuo Uematsu. For those who don’t know, he is the very famous, TALENTED composer of the music of Final Fantasy and other games. It was unbelievable, the first time, we were setting up in the backstage of the Conservatorium of Music, and suddenly, a group of people, INCLUDING HIM, walked past. It was the creator of all that unbelievable music, in person, so very very close! What a surreal moment. Throughout th two days, as he was present in all four concerts, we saw more glimpses of him. At the VIP party just hours ago, he was merely metres away, chatting cheerfully to the Japanese violinist who organised the concert. Unbelievable.

2. We got Nobuo Uematsu’s autograph. OMG… FUCKING SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! This was half the reason why we volunteered to put in so many hours and so much energy to this concert; a signature of the man himself. Here is the poster taken at an angle (the other two signatures were of the conductor and violinist) and here IS THE ACTUAL SIGNATURE ITSELF (excuse the crappy quality; crappy webcam) So amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. The concert was possibly the most intensely pleasurable auditory experience I’ve been through. It was beautiful, it was striking, it was astounding, it was overwhelming and I’m running out of superlatives. The two reasons which covers the entire concert:

a) The first half was all Ghibli music and the highlight was definitely the Spirited Away track “Futatabi”. It was so very very VERY beautiful! I really don’t wanna rave about the importance of listening to music to me is, but well it IS quite important. I thought I’d die on the spot when the violin solo started playing for the short while. Not only was the technical skill SPECTACULAR, but also the visual experience of seeing the tremolos and the music being produced; it really can only be described as magical. Me, having a soft spot for violin music, was just so overwhelmed by the raw power of hearing an instrument produce some of my favourite music with skills that I’ve rarely seen. I was torn between squeally and being awed into silence. It is not something that can be experienced on a soundtrack, even with the best sound system.

The rest of the orchestra was wonderful in its own right; the cellos and double basses giving a really beautiful deep, rich texture. I’m not one for brass instruments, they tend to override the other instruments, especially if percussion was also being played the same time. The harp produced a sound that was as beautiful as the appearance of the instrument itself. I actually got to touch it in the morning before the musicians came (well… I kinda didn’t get permission… ^^;;) and it did make such a melodious sound.

a) The 2nd half of the concert: FF music!! OMG, “Liberi Fatali”. With AN ACTUAL CHOIR. Once again, it just took my breath away the two times I snuck in to watch it. I thought I was gonna hyperventilate and die when it begun. To see such a dramatic, suspenseful piece played out in all those layers of music is… well, words truly cannot describe. A CD wouldn’t describe. It would to an extent, but with my medicore music system, you simply cannot HEAR the full dynamic and richness of the music. Perhaps I need better speakers? Or maybe it’s just something different to hear and see live instruments playing it.

And the highlight of the concert. One of the main highlights of the two days even. ONE WINGED ANGEL. OMG. OMG. OMG. OMGOMGOMG! This occured during the encore, and they couldn’t have ended the concert in any more a spectacular fashion. To HEAR the choir (well it was a little difficult I admit, the totality of the music does drown the voices out a little) and all those instruments used! And only seeing it visually did I picked up the awesome finality of the layering of the stringed instruments, the effects. The only way to express my feelings is to just really like out a really high-pitched shriek followed by much fangirly sighing.

4. One experienced many new things.

a) Had a bit of sake. Eh, I think it’s not as bad as wine, but not something that I can say I like atm. Maybe because it was served at room temperature. Always up for another attempt under more favourable conditions.

b) Saw one guy full on pashing this other guy for AT LEAST 30 seconds. It was a such a “WOAAAAAAAAH!” moment but so very very very amusing and hilarious. I think the pashed-on guy was a little drunk, at least he didn’t really react. Ahahaha it was so fun, as the pasher was really stereotypically “gay” in attitude and everything. And it was caught on camera and everything.

c) Saw someone behaving stupidly because they were ACTUALLY drunk. Said person, being the very talented violinist who has toured the world and produced the whole concert. It was hilarious seeing him doing idiotic hand actions when he performed so seriously on stage.