Original Post
last night i was lucky enough to be in the audience at the nob hill masonic center in san francisco to see a live performance of "dear friends", music from the final fantasy series by nobou uematsu. wow, what an experience. uematsu san is definitely my single biggest musical influence in the game music sphere, and to see his works performed live by a full orchestra - with him in attendence no less! - was unreal. afterwards, he spoke to the sold-out crowd through an interpreter. he's gracious, funny, and charismatic. he has acheived a kind of super-stardom in this field that i feel no shame in wanting to emulate. the crowd was intense, responsive, and held nothing back in letting uematsu know that they not only appreciated his contributions to game music but ranked him at the top of the game score pantheon. probably the most notable thing about his speach afterward was that he lamented the fact that most japanese children don't have the opportunity to experience live orchestral music, and that if more children are able to experience orchestral music at all through the final fantasy games and others like them, he feels like he's given something back. clearly his success has not touched his integrity, and he is still gracious and humble despite being world-renowned. did anyone else see the concert and have any comments?