A few weeks back I received an email from the peddlers of my kind of dope (RPG) SquareEnix, It said: Join us for the Houston premiere of the highly anticipated multimedia concert experience, Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY. Conductor Arnie Roth will conduct the orchestra through the extensive musical catalog of every game in the Final Fantasy series as the video of the games are projected on a large screen above the orchestra. Enjoy new music from the newly released Final Fantasy XIII, and the upcoming release Final Fantasy XIV’.
Fan favorite composer, Nobuo Uematsu and conductor Arnie Roth will be available for a post concert Q & A session from the stage.
I was stunned... The man, the architect of 20 years of my digital music memories was going to be nary a few states over! Nobuo Uematsu!! This was big, in nerd terms this damn near nuclear, having avidly invested massive portions of my life and poverty to the masterful Final Fantasy franchise, I had to be there. The problem of course now with the impending doom of the nation plus next years great depression part deux, the flight alone was 880 bucks, yeah so... That means one thing a road trip! A quest to see the quest bringer himself! He who heralds the black chocobo from Hell!
The plans were made, the quest was set. We would travel from Atlanta to New Orleans, rest two days. Then we would depart for Houston, catch the show and leave in the morning bound for Biloxi Mississippi, there we would gamble and do what we could to wash the remaining New Orleans film off of ourselves.
I realized many things on this trip, sometimes setting out on a long journey much like that of the entire Chains of Promathia Quest, is cleansing and enlightening. I learned that the gulf is full of kind good people who really need your support right now, your vacation dollars, and most of all never, ever vote for a progressive democrat again. I learned that hangovers hurt more than they used to, and time heals all wounds. I also learned that Bourbon street is too much for me anymore, (sober at least) I came pretty close to cramming a trombone into the rectal cavity of more than one "Jazz Hooligans/Pick pocketeers". Yes NOLA you are a gross, crime ridden, hell on earth, but your history, resilience and beignets make you barely tolerable.
I also learned that I do have something of a classical appreciation, although the massive subliminal Chocobo certainly helped bring that to the surface. Good company, good food, and good music is really all you need. I felt at home amongst my fellow nerds, it was nice knowing we had all shared a similar bond, many of us probably fought in the same parties over the years and did not know it, but the vibe was there. I know the music/company had an effect on me because I rarely dream in music but that night I did. On the way home I listened to my bootleg of the show over and over, marveling at the subtlety in the violins and the need for the cellos. Writing music is a gift, and I was thrilled to have spent an evening amongst one of the greatest treasures in video game music, thank you for the memories Nobuo Uematsu.
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