Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions concert has been making it’s rounds in some big cities and I had the pleasure to attend it when they stopped in Toronto. The Toronto Classical Symphony took the stage on August 28, 2015 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (ironic, I know!). Doors opened at 7 PM and seating opened up at 7:30. There were a few people in Pokémon onesies at the concert and someone dressed up as Lance. The concert started shortly after 8 and started with the overture. They made their way through all generations with three selected pieces for each generation.
With Red/Blue/Yellow, Pallet Town came up first, with a tranquil song. Double Trouble was up next, featuring Team Rocket. Visuals included Red battling Team Rocket and Giovanni in several locales. Next up was Born To Be A Champion, which was a medley of trainer, Gym Leader and Champion Battle themes.
“…” started off the second gen with Dragon’s Den and Champion music. Ancients of Hoenn goes through Meteor Falls/Cave of Origins and the Regi Trio Battle theme and the last one was Falling Ashes, which a great route 113 theme. Victory Road was a good surprise with staying true to the original theme and winded down with the end credits
Moving onto Sinnoh, Routes of Sinnoh featured music from different routes within Sinnoh, like 201 and 206. The orchestra did a fine job of fleshing out the composition. The Lake Guardians is up next with playing all the Lake Verity, Valor and Acuity themes that led into the Legendary Trio theme.
The Pokemon Centre made an appearance and was definitely quite nostalgic for many players. Next song up was The Day I Became King. and it conveyed many of the themes in Black and White very well. Next up was N-Counter, which is a nice play on words. The composition did a fine job conveying the emotions of N and his castle and the battle the player does with him. Farewell is a gorgeous rendition of N’s Farewell scene in Black and White. The pianist did a wonderful job finishing off Black and White.
X & Y starts off with An Eternal Prison and the orchestration of the music did a fine job of making the game music come to life. Next up is Welcome to Kalos, where you meet your neighbours and friends before heading off to see Prof. Sycamore. Professor Sycamore is a fun and lively piece. The last piece was Friends, Fights and Finales, which is a medley of X & Y music. Going through gyms, battles and concluded with the ending theme.
After the concert ended, there were two encores, Gotta Catch ‘Em All, which many of the audience members sung along and also was a great orchestral piece. The second encore was Kiseki, which means Miracle in Japanese and was a thank you from Junichi Masuda for making Pokémon such a success. It is the credits theme from X & y and had lyrics. The orchestral version was beautifully rendered and overall the concert was a great experience for any gamer and music afficionado. I would definitely recommend any Pokémon fan to check it out if you have the time and money to go out.
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