Dork the halls

Well, Dave convinced me to attend a concert of Final Fantasy music set to video game sequences and performed by an orchestra. And a real choir and soloist. And...it was pretty awesome.

At first, I have to say I was skeptical of such an event, among the many dorks that apparently descended from as far away as the east and west coasts and Mexico. Who knew I had such a popular event right in my own back yard, at the Rosemont Theatre.

It's a nice theater, and it was beautifully decorated for the holidays.


The chandelier is very impressive, and it reminded me of "Phantom of the Opera" this year in London.

We met up with Eric and Amanda Wesselmann, who had told Dave about the event and drove in from Purdue, Indiana for the chance to hear some Final Fantasy music.

Amanda and I haven't really played the games as much, though we recognized some of the songs. The real dorks at hand were Eric and Dave, who've played the games since the first versions on NES and Super Nintendo systems.


I say "real dorks" lightly, because of course these two were pretty tame, as some of the folks at this event go. They really got into it, sometimes dressing up as characters.

I recognized a lot of the music from Final Fantasy games VII and X, because I've played VII and watched Dave play X. Even for the games you haven't played, you can see some stories from the games right on screen above the orchestra and choir:


Yes, this particular scene is from a battle sequence. Kind of awesome, kind of awe-inspiringly dorky. Either way, Dave was enthralled, and I was really glad that he got to see some of his favorite games. And he got to see the games' music composer, who was there for the night. He even got on stage at the end, when he played organ (and two guys played accompanying electric guitar) for the end sequence of Final Fantasy VII. Dave's dork pants were soiled.

I had a good time, and I'd definitely go again. They're having another event next year at Ravinia, and I know Dave is probably already itching to get tickets.

We got to relax a bit today, and then I cooked up delicious wontons for a potsticker party, which was a lot of fun with friends. Everyone loved meeting Max, who is such a beast by now that everyone just fearfully watches him as he runs (and sometimes flails) around the room. Such a cutie!