A Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con 2.0 - Scotty's Recap

What better way to end a long-LONG season than to just sit back and listen to some music that has helped shape our lives.  That is something that the Colorado Symphony has been able to deliver to us for two straight years now, and I would not have it any other way.  When attending this show last year, but when I left I was blown away, and this year…well, dare I say it? It was even better!

Entering the Boettcher Concert Hall this year, I was happy to see that a majority of the symphony was dressed in what I hope were there favorite geeky characters.  Along with a massive choir that I never expected to see sitting in the back, I had a feeling that it was going to be a special night once again.

With conductor Scott O’Neil at the helm once again, I knew it was going to be a great show but seeing him taking part of the geekyness being dressed as Neo, I knew that the show was going to surpass my highest expectations. Opening up with the theme from Halo and then mixing into the theme from The Matrix, it was going to be a great night.  Utilizing the choir and bringing chills down everyone’s spines, each musical compilation brought everyone in attendance to a place in their life that they never should have left, their childhood.

As music from Beetlejuice made it to the set, it was the first time I have ever heard a crowd be invited to sing-a-long with any music at the symphony before.  For the fans to know that they are the reason behind such an event is what this is all about and the Colorado Symphony did not hesitate to let everyone enjoy this show to the fullest.

As the intermission hit, I was trying to listen for some of the feedback about what people were enjoying the most about the show to this point.  But the costumes were the talk of the night since people noticed that the percussion section was headed off by Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk and several people had taken notice as three of The Avengers were truly controlling the tempo of the concert.  That is all I caught as I had to run back up to my seat before the second half of the show started and I did not want to miss a second of what was coming up next.

As a huge surprise, Lego Batman came out on stage and made sure that everyone in attendance knew that "Everything is Awesome."  With a couple of locals coming out to rap along with the song, and the choir in full effect, this set the pace for the second half of the show.  With Batman conducting the theme for Superman, I could not help but laugh as Batman is the leader of the DC Universe.  With the Imperial March being played next, we were able to see the 501st in full effect as they all made their way to the stage.  With Darth Vader being in charge of this, it was known that everything would go his way, even when a couple of storm troopers stayed back to dance.

Hometown hero Austin Wintory came back for the second year in a row. Although he was not dressed in costume, it was amazing to see him take the conductor role once again, bringing forth this time he score from The Banner Saga.  This will have to be a game that I pick up at some point since the game Journey he scored was just great and the music from The Banner Saga seems to be even more epic.  Even without using the choir, Austin’s music is something that will leave you wanting more, and even tearing up after it plays, it is just that good.

As the night finished up there was a standing ovation for the great job the conductors Scott O’Neil and Austin Wintory did, along with the leader behind the Comic Con Choir, Catherine Sailer there are plenty of other people to thank. The 501st Legion Mountain Garrison were in full effect this year, along with a couple of Ghostbusters from Colorado Movie Cars.  Pop Culture Classroom/Denver Comic Con go hand and hand, but the biggest thank you goes to the Colorado Symphony for being able to bring all of our old favorites to life and combining them with the new classics if even for one night a year.  The music from our geeky loves will never die in our hearts and although it might be something that lasts the tests of time, it will always stay within our souls.

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