Remember back in January when I was bummed that I missed the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses concert in Dallas, TX, and I wrote a blog about what kind of tunes I would have in my OWN Zelda concert? Well, thanks to the generosity of one of my good friends, he and I drove to the Zelda orchestra concert that was just in Austin, TX this weekend! Click to read more of what we heard!

But before I get started, I wanted to add that I went to college in Austin, TX a long time ago so I’m pretty familiar with the drive down there and back to Dallas. There are lots of ‘landmarks’ you pass on the way, like the Czech Stop that sells kolaches and is ALWAYS busy, a snake farm that was actually featured on Dirty Jobs, and my favorite, a giant caterpillar wearing cowboy boots. I think it’s just there to attract attention to the domed storage units behind it (or maybe they’re homes for hippies, I don’t know). But at any rate we always pass it on the way to Austin and back, so this time I wanted to take a picture of it.

Here’s a shot showing how long it is. That’s a lot of cowboy boots! Yeah, I know, I’m easily amused.

All right, back to the Zelda concert. It started out with an overture medley of various Zelda familiars, like Ganon & Zelda’s themes, the Twilight Princess field theme, and the Ballad of the Goddess song from Skyward Sword. The next three songs were new to the concert lineup, so my friend who already saw the Zelda concert in Dallas got to hear new things here, too.

The first new song was a medley of Zelda dungeon themes, like the cave song from Link to the Past, the Palace theme from Zelda 2, and the original classic dungeon tune. On the screen they showed images from the various Zelda games, and during the dungeon song they did show scenes from my favorite Zelda game: Link’s Awakening. But I didn’t recognize the song the orchestra played during it.

After that they played the Kakariko Village theme and a selection of popular Ocarina tunes like the Temple of Time and Windmill songs. Since The Ocarina of Time is such a big favorite with Zelda fans, the next medley featured tunes from that game, too. Like the song they play during the famous scene where Ganondorf rides away with captive Zelda on a horse. Then it followed with Zelda’s theme, the title and field songs, and the Lost Woods/Saria’s Song.

Before the intermission they ended with a medley of Wind Waker songs, like the first town theme, ocean and pirate ship songs, and the dramatic final battle with Ganondorf, plus the ending. After the intermission they played the fairy fountain/save file select theme featuring the big ol’ harp on stage. Then they played some Twilight Princess tunes, but the music in that game wasn’t as memorable to me so I don’t remember enough of it to write about. Although I know the video they showed along with it would’ve been considered a spoiler alert!

But luckily, the last movement of the concert was very memorable to me, as it was a medley of Link to the Past tunes! It started with the rain theme at the beginning, then Hyrule Castle, Zelda’s theme, the chapel song (with choir), and dungeon and boss tunes.

Of course, as you know, most orchestra concerts have an encore or two, but this Zelda one had three! And none of them were One Winged Angel (I got so tired of that being the encore song at the Final Fantasy concerts I’ve been to).

The first encore tune made me happy, as it was the Ballad of the Wind Fish from Link’s Awakening, which is my favorite in the Zelda series, as mentioned before. The song didn’t have as strong of a presence as I had hoped, though. Oh well, it was still great to hear.

Next encore was fan favorite Gerudo Valley from Ocarina of Time. I think the orchestral arrangement was a bit too slow, but it’s still such a great tune. The last encore song was new to the orchestra lineup, and featured Majora’s Mask tunes like the various town themes from each day, and the final battle. Even though Majora’s Mask isn’t my favorite Zelda game, it was cool to see it get some attention at the show.

And that was the concert! Here’s a picture of the stage. You can see the giant screen where they showed scenes from the games. Don’t worry; I didn’t take this picture while they were playing. That’s bad concert etiquette! I took it before they warmed up.

I heard that the guy who spearheaded this concert series is from Dallas (Garland, actually) which may explain why the first concert was in Dallas. At any rate, it was cool to hear some great Zelda tunes orchestrated, get a ton of 3DS StreetPass tags, and have fun with my friend! Definitely worth the trip!

Tags: Misc