09/15/2025
This weekend marked my first time attending an orchestrated video game concert in the form of Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy. The city of Milwaukee hosted Distant Worlds at the Miller High Life Theatre to a very excited audience. The concept of Distant Worlds is not new to me, as I have several copies of their various album releases from the past few years. However, I was very excited to see and hear the performances live in person.
Doors at the Miller High Life Theatre opened at 7:00 PM, with the show kicking off just a few minutes after 8:00 PM. Our first goal upon getting into the theatre wasn't finding our seats, but instead getting in line for some merchandise. We were lucky to get in line when we did, as the merchandise line wrapped around a good portion of the theatre lobby area. We waited in line for almost an hour, but nothing seemed to be sold out when we reached the merchandise table. The merchandise selection had plenty of variety. Distant Worlds t-shirts, hats, and performance recordings in both CD and vinyl were available to purchase. For those looking for more specific Final Fantasy items, plushes of Moogles, Torgal the Dog, and Chocobos were available to buy. Additionally, almost every CD soundtrack from the Final Fantasy series was available to purchase. I picked up a Final Fantasy IX picture disk, a program, and a few other CDs.
With our purchases complete, we had just enough to get to our seats before the opening performance started. The orchestra kicked off the show with the central theme from Final Fantasy and followed it up with an epic performance of Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII. I instantly got goosebumps during the performance, and the song set the pace for an epic night of performances featuring various songs from Final Fantasy 14 and 16, along with a small collection of songs from other games.
I won't spoil the rest of the songs performed, but if Distant Worlds is coming to your city, I highly recommend going. If there's one regret I have about the show, it's that I've knowingly missed other opportunities to attend for a few years now. Overall, it was a fantastic show and I can't wait to attend again.