Live LogLive Logwhere i keep track of live musical & theatrical memories ♩♫♪
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What can I say about this ballet other than how beautiful and charming it was? The set design/dressings and costumes were quite gorgeous. Stunning, actually! The live music was amazing, and I didn't realize how much of a difference a live orchestra would make when it came to ballet (though thinking on it now, it's kind of a duh!! moment.) Getting to hear Tchaikovsky's music live was a treat.
The principal dancer playing Odette was so incredibly graceful and swan-like that it was easy to see when she was dancing as Human!Odette versus her bespelled swan form. The dancer playing the Prince was okay but I think that the true gem of the show was the soloist playing the Jester! His acting was great and his technical skill was insanely good. I felt like I was getting dizzy myself watching him spin around so gracefully on the stage. He definitely stole the show. There were a few moments that kind of broke immersion (Odile broke character and made a grimacing WOAH face after doing fouettés in her solo dance.) Most of my ballet knowledge comes from stuff I learned as a kid so I can't really say I know what I'm talking about but I do feel like there was more emphasis on the dance vs. acting/story-telling.
Which speaking of, I was wondering which ending they would go with. It ended nicely with the Prince and Odette and their Happily Ever After. I was kind of hoping for the bittersweet ending because I love the Drama™ and Angst™ usually, but I did some reading and saw that Russian and Chinese ballet companies usually go for the happy ending.
Unrelated: I was quite thrilled to see some Japanese and Kazakh dancers in the corps!
Waiting and watching the seats fill up one by one.
The weeks leading up to this concert I was in such a fog that I didn't get to properly prepare for it! I had planned on wearing a Lunar Tear or some kind of closet cosplay for this months ago but I had not been feeling well at all. In fact, the day we were supposed to leave I really didn't want to go and I was anxious and dreading it but I ended up sucking it up and traveling anyways. I'm really glad I did because I had a wonderful time.
I had played NieR Gestalt at release date in 2010. I was still living at home at the time, and let my dad play it first as I was mostly focused on drawing my online KH Riku/Sora doujin at the time (lol) but what convinced me to play immediately was hearing the song 'Hills of Radiant Wind' on the living room TV as dad played. I thought it was really beautiful and different because at the time (Pre-FF13, etc.) there weren't many JRPGs that had vocal tracks as BGM. So I was immediately charmed by it.
I grew super obsessed with the game despite Papa!Nier being really ugly, the controls clunky, and the weird gameplay/story choices (that I actually really liked!) I had the soundtrack on constant repeat while I spent time drawing and writing and surfing the internet...I was also disheartened that when there was a NieR concert it was in JP only. I was but a broke kid that couldn't afford it lol. I remember constantly complaining to Poopy about it (who was only my bf at the time!)
So. Imagine my surprise many, many years later when he surprises me with tickets for NieR 12024!! I was very touched that he remembered.
OK, so enough of my blabbing about mildly-related stuff:
I went in to the concert not knowing anything: the setlist, who was going to be there, and how Yoko Taro wrote a new (voiced) scenario involving 2B and 9S and how there was a narrative that allowed tracks from Gestalt/Replicant to be played alongside Automata seamlessly. I was surprised that this was the last show of the tour and I was 100000% surprised that Yoko Taro, Keiichi Okabe, Emi Evans, and J'Nique Nicole was there. I assumed that the concert was going to be like many of the Distant Worlds ones, where they either have arranged versions of the track that the accompanying choir sings, or just no singer at all. So yeah...at the reveal..I cried. In fact, I spent 90% of the concert crying, LOL.
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra was incredible, as was the choir. As a former choir kid, I was really impressed with them! Such strong, clear, and beautiful voices that sung the NieR chaos language perfectly. Emi Evans and J'Nique were incredible as well. I really loved the harmonious blend of Emi's softer voice with J'Nique's stronger one. 'A Beautiful Song' was done so incredibly well. I was sooo happy to hear my favorite track from Automata (and one of my favorite Boss fight songs ever) executed flawlessly.
A small highlight of the concert: I got to say hello to Keiichi Okabe-san as he was making his way back to the room after an intermission. He's a very nice man lol.
I enjoyed the concert immensely and I will definitely go to another one if there will be a new tour in the future!
What a magical and lovely experience! This was the first ballet I've ever attended and it was wonderful. We made a whole experience of it——got dressed up to the nines, had dinner at a fancy steakhouse beforehand, and then walked the strip downtown to the theatre. It was especially nice because the Christmas lights were still up and decorating all the trees and streetlights.
The dancers were so amazing and talented, and it took me back to when I was a young girl fervently wishing that I could grow up to become the best ballerina-slash-figure skater haha! (It was heartwarming too, to listen to the little girls in the crowd giggle and claim they would be ballerinas when they grow up.) It lasted about two hours, and it did not drag at all. I was surprised at how much storytelling you can convey through something like dance. It was easy to follow along with (I had forgotten completely what the story of Snow White was because I've never actually seen the Disney movie!) and the sets and lightwork were really beautiful.
The Prima was beautiful too, so skilled and just radiant!! My favorite danseur was actually Dopey! He was so cute and playful. The dwarves were easily the crowd's favorite, and their dances were so lively. It's such an art to be able to evoke feelings from an audience without the use of words.
It was a wonderful experience, and immediately on our way out, we bought tickets for Swan Lake. My only two regrets: 1.) we arrived a little later than we wanted to, so I missed out on buying a tote bag to support the ballet company 2.) I didn't take any pictures! I felt nervous my phone was going to go off (even though it was completely silenced...) so I turned it off before the show started. I wish I could've gotten a picture of the ballet dancers at the end of the show, when they were all together on stage.
Finally, FINALLY got to see QOTSA after listening to them for 20 odd years. They were my introduction to the rock music genre as a whole when I was an elementary school kid. Prior to discovering them, my music taste consisted of every 90s kid's: Britney Spears, NSYNC, Aaliyah, etc. Needless to say, I was HYPED!!! Probably the best live show I've ever seen. Hands down. Josh Homme sounds incredible live, it was like listening to a recording. Troy was so fun to watch on guitar too, his footwork while playing had me swooning LOL, I found it so fun and cute. They are all old men now but tbh I love them more now then ever!!!
The setlist was so good, a lot of hits and QOTSA classics were played as well as a couple of new songs off of their new In Times New Roman... album. The crowd interaction during 'Make it Wit Chu' had me tearful omg...Josh dedicated it to his best friend (who was in the crowd), the heartfelt chanting of the chorus by everyone...ahhhh it just hit me right in the chest. I felt so lucky and blessed to have the chance to see one of my longtime favorites live. My sister jokes that it's Old Men™ type of music but that's okay, like with everything my taste is all over the place haha. Speaking of Old Men™, the crowd consisted mostly of millenials and gen X'ers so I didn't feel out of place at all, but I was suprised to see a handful of zoomers.
It was so high energy and fun! I want to see them again. I nabbed a t-shirt and poster from the merch table.
Phantomgram my beloved. An alt indie duo that I have listened to since I was a confused kid in college. SO good live. They were the second opening act for QOTSA. Sarah Barthel sounded ethereal, something straight out of dreams. Listening to 'When I'm Small' and 'Black Out Days' took me straight back to those Indie Sleaze Tumblr American Apparel days haha!
I really regret not grabbing a Phantogram t-shirt from the merch table but that just gives me an excuse to see them again. Since seeing them live, I've been listening to them nonstop again.
I had no idea who these guys were prior to the show but they were fun! Super high energy, very loud music, super bright and flashing lights. The two singers were really cute with their on-stage antics. I had a hard time understanding the lyrics because their music was soooo loud—they have kind of a melodic/musical metalcore sound. I'd mostly describe them as like...experimental post-hardcore? It's a bit odd and hard to describe, but I did enjoy the show!
I'm going to be listening to more of their music so I can get a better idea of their sound.
Me: crying like a baby the whole night
I can't even describe how otherworldly it felt for me to listen to music that meant the world to me since I was like 7, live. Crazy....
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A play adapted from a 1967 movie put on by a local theater group. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot and found it quite funny and poignant. It's based on an old 60's movie, right before interracial marriage was socially accepted. It was even filmed before Loving v. Virginia, when it was still illegal! The subject matter is a very dear one to me, as a biracial child with parents in an interracial marriage :)
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1000% not my taste, but I had gotten these tickets through my old work place for Poopy. I knew none of the songs, but it was fun. I mostly just remember a guy next to us dressed up as Deadpool doing cybergoth dances for the entire show lmao