Woops, it's been a while since I've posted - but stumbled upon some news that might excite a few readers.
Music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, and X will be played at the 'Final Symphony' in London, May 2013, by the London Symphony Orchestra. It is hoped they will follow the same success as the award winning Symphonic Fantasies events last year and in 2009, covering various Square Enix titles such as Kingdom of Hearts, Chrono Tiger, and Secret of Mana. Benyamin Nuss will be returning as a soloist to the orchestra, after preforming at the previous events exceptionally.
If you're not in the UK, they'll also be performing in Wuppertal, Germany. If this sounds like your kind of dream event, I would defiantly recommend doing a quick search to see if they'll be coming your way.
Tickets are expensive - from £30 to £65, and are already selling well particularly in Germany. This is an event only for the core fans of Final Fantasy, who are keen on the sound of a well organised orchestra.
http://www.ffsymphony.com/
http://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?ID=14201
Showing posts with label UK Concerts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK Concerts. Show all posts
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Saturday, 1 December 2012
BIGBANG heads to.. Wembley???
Five years ago it'd be completely unheard of - a major Kpop band selling out in London?! But the Hallyu wave is at it's peek, and sure enough, BIGBANG managed to sell out a concert at Wembley stadium within 10 minutes.
In fact, it was so popular, there will be ANOTHER another concert at the same venue the day after! And guess what, that sold out to.
And how much were these tickets?
£60.
Yup, fans are crazy enough to fork out for massively overpriced tickets, because the option to miss the opportunity of seeing one of the biggest Korean bands was unacceptable. Is this the start of a happy future of kpop bands visiting the UK, or is this the highest peak the Hallyu wave can ever reach?
Lets consider the moment, when Korean music hit the UK media with the famous 'Gangnam Style'. Love it or loathe it - it reached number #1 in the UK charts, and has been the subject of international attention. Celebrities, politicians, and general media has been keen on associating themselves with the dance. What effect has this on the general public in regards to Kpop music? Well, there are two sides you can take for that question.
The Optimistic View
Because of Gangnam style, people are more likely to look at other sources of kpop.
The Realist View
Because of Gangnam style, people will associate ALL kpop with Gangnam style, and still won't break into the Kpop market.
Will Kpop ever be taken seriously? Predictions can only be made on sketchy grounds. Here's another; Do we want Kpop to be taken seriously by the public? Think carefully on this one.
Am I the only one cringing? No?
It's not that I want kpop to not be enjoyed with international success.
But this Hallyu wave is brewing an issue here that is quite unsettling.
Greed. The craving for blood. Total insanity.
Kpop fans are turning into monsters.
Ooo, did I just say that?
Please don't kill me yet and let me finish.
Lets take Britian for example.
Kpop obviously has a lot of fans for two Wembley Big Bang concerts. And that's great! The sheer mass of fangirl and fanboy brings the bands to the UK, bands I never thought I'd ever see.
But a lot of these fans don't really get kpop, and treat this as normal pop.
There is a reason why I don't like normal pop.
Okay, several reasons.
But the sheer idolism and fanbase is a massive turn off.
And while Korean idolism can be crazy, British idolism can be just as insane. Screaming at their idols in public, even hugging them - which is considered completely out of order in South Korea. You do not glomp members of Exo-K, even if they're you're bias. At least ask. These girls didn't.
A lot of people in the western world do not understand or get the culture behind the music, and that's well... Quite embarassing. I'm not Korean, nor have I been to S.Korea. At the end of the day, I don't even know much about the culture. But something doesn't sit right when I hear people talk to kpop as if they know and understand it well.
Am I just being touchy that my hidden gem has been discovered?
I'll leave you with this:
Do we need an understanding of culture to enjoy and appreciate music, and go to concerts? Or is it unfair to ask the public to mould themselves to the rules of other cultures, and that it is the arriving culture that must mould themselves to their audience? What do you think?
In fact, it was so popular, there will be ANOTHER another concert at the same venue the day after! And guess what, that sold out to.
And how much were these tickets?
£60.
Yup, fans are crazy enough to fork out for massively overpriced tickets, because the option to miss the opportunity of seeing one of the biggest Korean bands was unacceptable. Is this the start of a happy future of kpop bands visiting the UK, or is this the highest peak the Hallyu wave can ever reach?
Lets consider the moment, when Korean music hit the UK media with the famous 'Gangnam Style'. Love it or loathe it - it reached number #1 in the UK charts, and has been the subject of international attention. Celebrities, politicians, and general media has been keen on associating themselves with the dance. What effect has this on the general public in regards to Kpop music? Well, there are two sides you can take for that question.
The Optimistic View
Because of Gangnam style, people are more likely to look at other sources of kpop.
The Realist View
Because of Gangnam style, people will associate ALL kpop with Gangnam style, and still won't break into the Kpop market.
Will Kpop ever be taken seriously? Predictions can only be made on sketchy grounds. Here's another; Do we want Kpop to be taken seriously by the public? Think carefully on this one.
Am I the only one cringing? No?
It's not that I want kpop to not be enjoyed with international success.
But this Hallyu wave is brewing an issue here that is quite unsettling.
Greed. The craving for blood. Total insanity.
Kpop fans are turning into monsters.
Ooo, did I just say that?
Please don't kill me yet and let me finish.
Lets take Britian for example.
Kpop obviously has a lot of fans for two Wembley Big Bang concerts. And that's great! The sheer mass of fangirl and fanboy brings the bands to the UK, bands I never thought I'd ever see.
But a lot of these fans don't really get kpop, and treat this as normal pop.
There is a reason why I don't like normal pop.
Okay, several reasons.
But the sheer idolism and fanbase is a massive turn off.
And while Korean idolism can be crazy, British idolism can be just as insane. Screaming at their idols in public, even hugging them - which is considered completely out of order in South Korea. You do not glomp members of Exo-K, even if they're you're bias. At least ask. These girls didn't.
A lot of people in the western world do not understand or get the culture behind the music, and that's well... Quite embarassing. I'm not Korean, nor have I been to S.Korea. At the end of the day, I don't even know much about the culture. But something doesn't sit right when I hear people talk to kpop as if they know and understand it well.
Am I just being touchy that my hidden gem has been discovered?
I'll leave you with this:
Do we need an understanding of culture to enjoy and appreciate music, and go to concerts? Or is it unfair to ask the public to mould themselves to the rules of other cultures, and that it is the arriving culture that must mould themselves to their audience? What do you think?
Thursday, 15 November 2012
An Cafe Concert - Big Success!
What were YOU doing on the 7th of December? If you weren't in Islington, you missed out on an epic concert!
Japanese Rock Band An Cafe rocked out in London, Islington on the 7th of December under the happy Oshare-Kei title "NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD Ⅲ ～TADAIMA o(≧∀≦)o OKAERI o(≧∀≦)o～"
This was an absolute brilliant concert for many reasons. Firstly, the fans themselves have a generally wonderful, carefree attitude, and that pushing and shoving you can receive from other concerts just didn't happen, while at the same time fans weren't afraid to cheer, jump and dance along with the band members. I noted that fans were from a spectrum of backgrounds while the age ranged seemed to broaden from 14 to late 30s, and the dress code varied from casual to the familiar Visual Kei hue, and one very brave girl wearing a rabbit onesie.
The band members themselves were energetic, lively, and put so much effort into their music, it gave the atmosphere a fantastic dose of life and excitement. Their broken English was adorable - and the quality of sound was simply fantastic. Lead singer Miku responded generously to the crowd making the experience incredibly 3D. Each time someone shouted something in Japanese, he'd respond back - and, ah, when a male in the audience cried "I love you!" it was pure gold watching Miku's delighted face follow a response of "I wuv you too!"
One of the best things about the concert was that it was fairly small, so it was much easier to see the band members, and much more cosy and comfortable.
An Cafe will defiantly be coming back next year, but dates have not been announced.
 |
| Photo generously shared by "Emma" |
Japanese Rock Band An Cafe rocked out in London, Islington on the 7th of December under the happy Oshare-Kei title "NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD Ⅲ ～TADAIMA o(≧∀≦)o OKAERI o(≧∀≦)o～"
This was an absolute brilliant concert for many reasons. Firstly, the fans themselves have a generally wonderful, carefree attitude, and that pushing and shoving you can receive from other concerts just didn't happen, while at the same time fans weren't afraid to cheer, jump and dance along with the band members. I noted that fans were from a spectrum of backgrounds while the age ranged seemed to broaden from 14 to late 30s, and the dress code varied from casual to the familiar Visual Kei hue, and one very brave girl wearing a rabbit onesie.
The band members themselves were energetic, lively, and put so much effort into their music, it gave the atmosphere a fantastic dose of life and excitement. Their broken English was adorable - and the quality of sound was simply fantastic. Lead singer Miku responded generously to the crowd making the experience incredibly 3D. Each time someone shouted something in Japanese, he'd respond back - and, ah, when a male in the audience cried "I love you!" it was pure gold watching Miku's delighted face follow a response of "I wuv you too!"
 |
| Photo generously shared by "Emma" |
One of the best things about the concert was that it was fairly small, so it was much easier to see the band members, and much more cosy and comfortable.
An Cafe will defiantly be coming back next year, but dates have not been announced.
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