Final Fantasy has a home...in my CD player.

Let me be the first to say that I'm so far from the hipster-Indie music scene that I couldn't wear a fedora and sweatbands if my life depended on it. Needless to say, when Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) was coming to Kingston, I wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to see him. But when a friend offers a free ticket, who am I to refuse?

The Elixir nightclub was packed with Kingston hipsters, and my friends and I were definitely outnumbered 10-1. I just wanted to leave tonight without a staredown.

I had no expectations of what Final Fantasy would sound like, which is probably one reason why I was so blown away by his performance. Before I continue, you must know that Final Fantasy consists mainly of him, his violin and a looping pedal. It is this fact alone that makes him brilliant.

His songs are all structured the same. He'd play a sample live that gets looped throughout the song. Each successive layer of looped samples build into a rich layer of sounds that your brain is just trying to wade through, all leading up to a massive crescendo, when it crashes into the dreamy beginning, ending with him playing his original sample again and completing the circle of life...

I definitely did not expect such a rich texture of sounds coming from one violin. And I think listening to mainly mainstream music also helps with that surprise. But it's incredible watching him squeeze every musical juice possible out of that one violin. And all his samples are such catchy hooks that I find myself tapping to the beat without realizing it. My one complaint is that his songs are structured the same. With the versatility that he already possesses, I'm surprised I don't find more diverse types of songs. Not that I'm complaining, it was still pretty damn entertaining to watch.

So, if you're interested, check out Final Fantasy's website. Or check out any show near you. Even if you end up not liking him, you have to give him respect at how much he can make you rock out to a violin. I've never been so enthralled by someone playing a classical instrument.

Weirdest moment of the night: watching Owen scream into his violin to add his voice to a looping hook. I don't think I've ever seen someone yell at a violin before, let alone his/her own. And I think this will be the one and only time where Judy Blume got a shout out at a concert.

I'm sure Optimuscrime will have pictures.

Update (June 8, 2005 6:25 pm):

As promised, you can not only check out pictures from Optimuscrime, but he also has a video of one of the songs HERE.