Vampire Killer was the highlight of the night for me, they rocked the hell out of that tune, I still had chills when it was over. The energy and passion from some of the performers was astounding, notably the rock band's solo violinist and bassist.
The entire Grandia suite was absolutely amazing, especially Theme of Grandia. You could tell Iwadare did the arrangements himself as they were very true to the original OST sound. Didn't know Miyaji's widow was in attendance, that had to be so emotional for her. Very cool tribute by Iwadare!
Really enjoyed the Sakimoto suite for the most part, mainly Bland Logo~Title Back, Backborn Story, and Trisection from FFT. Some odd song choices from FFXII, I would have preferred Vagrant Story instead, but still awesome.
Chrono Trigger was another highlight, full of energy and overall win. This was another piece where the rock band really shined.
I still have yet to attend a VGM concert where FFVII isn't played, and this was no exception. Opening ~ Bombing Mission was a nice show opener but I've had enough of One-Winged Angel already. Enough! Okay so it's the song that got me into game music, but I'd like to start hearing something different in its place at these concerts.
The encore was.. unusual. Some vocal song called "Still Alive" from Portal, which I've never heard before. Apparently everyone else on the planet loves it though. People were singing along word for word, clapping like crazy and going nuts over it. Tommy (Zane), Scott (my buddy), and myself were just laughing the whole time, kept thinking it was some kind of practical joke, haha. Nothing against the song or VGO for performing it but it was an odd choice for a show whose theme was Japanese game music.
Meeting the guests was really cool, they were all so relaxed and friendly. I shook hands with Hitoshi Sakimoto, Yoko Shimomura, Noriyuki Iwadare, Kinuyo Yamashita, and Shota Nakama. Got CDs signed by all the composers (Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve, Super Mario RPG, Grandia 2 Deus, Dracula Best) and my program signed by Shota. Had my arm around Sakimoto and Shota gave me a pat on the back. Yes, truly awesome. 