Last night, I went and checked out the Grand Rapids Symphony. Normally, I never really attend the Symphony because classical music doesn't appeal to me to much. Last night however, the DeVos Performance hall was packed with crazed gamers, young and old! Why? The symphony performed some of our favorite video game songs. Was I satisfied with it though?

If you are a gamer, this was the show that you needed to see. It was unlike any symphony show I have ever seen. Screaming fans, people speaking Dragon, and even the group of fans yelling out, "LEEEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEEENNNNNKIIINS!" (Yes, that actually happened.) Defiantly different from your 'typical' symphony setting.

There were 3 huge HD screen showing footage from whatever game they were playing, and it really grabbed in you into the music. The first part of the show, the symphony performed music from Japanese games. Those were: Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Chrono Trigger, and fan favorite Legend of Zelda. It was pretty surreal to hear this music so well performed as a symphony, than from an 8-bit cartridge. Each one of the songs was introduced by the conductor, who gave a brief history of each one of the songs. It was informative and good to hear for concert-goers who have no idea what this music is. Since I grew up with this music, this was my favorite part of the show.

The second part of the symphony, we traveled West and listened to music from Elder Scrolls V, World of Warcraft, Kingdom Hearts, Guild Wars, and Halo: Reach. The music was fantastic and extremely well played, but I was unfamiliar with most of the music. The show ended with World of Warcraft, and then it was done....or so I thought.

The encore was my favorite part...the symphony then busted out with an amazing rendition of the theme from Final Fantasy 6. I sunk down in my seat and enjoyed every note that came from the instruments, because it surprised me! I thought, "Oh, they will play something from Final Fantasy 7...everybody's favorite." BUT NO! FINAL FANTASY 6! It was truly great to hear that song live, and makes you appreciate the genius that is Nobuo Uematsu!

Was I satisfied? Hell yea! This show was amazing! Even better was seeing the diversity of age in the audience being excited for a symphony! Goes to show you that you don't have to have a #1 single on the Billboard chart to enjoy music! Congrats to the Grand Rapids Symphony on a stellar show!

For more info on the Grand Rapids Symphony, check out their website for ticket info and upcoming shows! www.grsymphony.org

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