Star Wars in Concert – A Night of Music & Magic
By Erika Blake
Multipleverses.com
Ever since I first saw that Imperial starship race across the screen back in 1977 on the big screen, STAR WARS has always been a part of my life. George Lucas’s fantastical films have shaped my life in a lot of ways and the imagery, characters, and special FX have always thrilled me and opened up my imagination. However, all that I have to do is hear someone hum a bar from “The Imperial March” and it will always put a smile on my face. When I heard about the “STAR WARS IN CONCERT” tour coming, I had to buy tickets. Back when I lived in Boston I got to see the predecessor to this tour; I had scored free tickets to an outdoor symphony celebration of music in sci-fi films conducted by none other than John Williams conducting the Boston Pops. It was the first time that they performed live music while video screens displayed images from the various films that Williams has scored over the years with Star Wars being the focal point. Yeah, I was in major geek heaven.
For the STAR WARS IN CONCERT tour, a live orchestra plays Williams iconic music with a full choral backing. The show is a brilliant combo of lights, lasers, smoke & fire, story-telling, video montages, and live music. Anthony Daniels is along for the tour and between sets he tells the crowd of the musical progress of the event. The orchestra is very good and the sound quality for the event at Jobbing arena in Phoenix was excellent. I never strained to have to hear anything including Anthony’s parts.
Each section of the show showcases footage that matches the musical pieces and overall the show focuses on the rise and fall of the Republic, the discovery of Anakin Skywalker, his rise as a hero and fall, the rise of the rebellion, Luke and Leia’s journey, and the ultimate redemption of Anakin Skywalker. As a fan of the mythology of the films and as an avid Anakin/Padme shipper the whole evening brought a smile to my face as it focused on the heart of the films which is the hero’s journey. The concert was split into two parts with a 20 minute intermission between them. The story was set chronologically as Lucas always envisioned his films to be viewed: first half heavily focused on the events that took place during the prequels whereas the second half focused on the original trilogy. Along with the footage and music the stage and screen are surrounded by lights to set the different moods, there were lasers, and pyrotechnics. Here are the pieces that are performed during the concert:
Star Wars Main Title
Duel of the Fates
Anakin’s Theme
Moisture Farm
The Flag Parade
Across the Stars
Battle of the Heroes
The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)
Intermission
The Asteroid Field
Princess Leia’s Theme
Tales of a Jedi Knight
Cantina Band
Yoda’s Theme
TIE Fighter Attack
Luke and Leia
The Forest Battle
Light of the Force
Throne Room/End titles
The digital film footage that was displayed on the 3 story long digital screen was beyond impressive. The magical folks at Lucasfilm have been busy working on cleaning up the footage for all 6 six films. I can only believe that this tour is our preview for what has to be Blu-Rays that will be coming soon. There were times in the footage where they clipped together scenes from the prequels and the original trilogy and shown alongside each other, it was impossible to tell that the vintage footage wasn’t as recently shot as that from the prequels. The footage from A NEW HOPE, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and RETURN OF THE JEDI was brilliant, bright, and crisp. There were times when I had to squint because the footage was so vivid on the screen. The largest hint that our Blu-Rays could be on the way was during the telling of Anakin’s journey back to the light they flashed on Yoda in the Jedi Council chamber from THE PHANTOM MENACE saying, “Clouded this boy’s future is” and the scary green Muppet was gone and completely re-digitalized to match how Yoda appears in ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH. There were also included some of Ralph McQuarrie’s iconic conceptual design pieces that they had manipulated so that they appeared three dimensional. It made me wonder if they’re still testing and working on trying to convert the films for the 3D format.
If you’re going, get there early so that you can catch the props that they have on display. They included a Blue Guard, Red Imperial Guard, and gray Chancellor Palpatine robed outfit. We also saw the original Han in Carbonite, Boba Fett, and Chewbacca. If there were more there I didn’t see them, different arenas might have more or fewer props depending on the size of the venue. Also if the concert is playing 2 events back to back where you live, check as the event approaches for deals on tickets. The 7PM show that I attended wasn’t even 1/3 full and they were trying to sell tickets off at buy one get one 1/2 off just before the concert. I’d also highly recommend that you might want to buy your souvenirs in advance from the main site because the prices are jacked up by a good 25% at the actual event. US tour dates have been added clear through December. Be sure to check to see if the show is coming to your town. It’s a great event to attend with family and friends and is a great family friendly way to introduce symphonic music to a new generation of STAR WARS fans.
Here’s a trailer for the concert:
