Perhaps the only real criticism -- a sentiment that seemed to be shared by many of the fans -- was the choice of MC: some blonde, female courtside announcer for the Sacramento Kings. She admitted to not being a gamer, let alone familiar with the Final Fantasy series, and this became painfully obvious. Comments such as "I need to go to (video game related events) more often, there are a lot of good-looking guys here!" and other attempts to be funny came off as inane and insulting to most of the audience, including the females (which made up a surprisingly large percentage of the audience).

The concert started off with a disappointingly flat, uninspired rendition of Liberi Fatali (Final Fantasy VIII). The Symphony Silicon Valley and San Jose State University Chorale did not seem to connect with the music -- or perhaps more precisely, take the music seriously -- and I was preparing for an entire night of disappointing performances.

However, once the symphony launched into Zanarkand (FF X), the audience listened (and watched cutscenes from the game) raptly... and responded with the first of many appreciative rounds of applause. I think hearing and seeing this support inspired the performers to play with more passion, and I could hear the difference!

As the symphony performed the various pieces, I got the impression that most, if not all, the audience were reminiscing about the same scenes (and associated emotions) from the game... which was pretty cool. =) Hard to describe, especially if you're not a fan... perhaps another one of those "you had to be there" moments.

Here's the rest of the program:
Terra's Theme (FF VI)
Theme Of Love (FF IV)
Dear Friends (FF V)
Vamo' Alla Flamenco (FF IX) [great solo guitar performance]
Love Grows (FF VIII)
Aeris's Theme (FF VII) [audience loved this]
Not Alone (FF IX)
Ronfaure (FF XI) [ahhhh, the countless hours I wasted here...]
Final Fantasy I-III Medley [audience REALLY loved this]
New Melody from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Final Fantasy [I didn't think it was possible for the audience to clap any louder...]

Nobuo Uematsu then spoke to the extremely appreciative crowd (we practically gave a standing ovation to every one of his sentences! LOL!) -- he was energetic and humerous -- before giving way to a final, encore performance of Sephiroth. What better way to end the night (although the audience was hungry for more!) then with a song as popular, epic-sounding, and triumphant as this?