Star Wars In Concert: Impressive. Most Impressive!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I've been hooked on George Lucas' science-fiction saga ever since 1980. I remember that Christmas I received my first Star Wars action figures: the Wookiee named Chewbacca, a small, green Jedi Master named Yoda, and a golden droid named C-3PO. In my childhood, I probably had about 50 Star Wars action figures, my cousin Paul's hand-me-down TIE Fighter and Han Solo blaster pistol, and used to pore over the Marvel Star Wars comics in great detail. Although I have seen the prequel movies several times over, and admit there are good sequences in each of them, in my mind they still pale to the original trilogy that I grew to love as a kid. Of course, a big part of the Star Wars movies is the music. I remember getting chills listening to the Imperial March when I saw The Empire Strikes Back for the first time as a kid, and although my music collection is mostly filled with rock (and some comedy), I also have a few of my favorite John Williams compositions too.

When I learned that Star Wars In Concert was coming to St. Paul, and that Mr. C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, would be narrating the show, I decided I had to go to this show! I promised myself I wouldn't pay the top tier ticket price unless I got a premium seat - fortunately, I scored a seat in the left corner of the first row on the floor!

I took the drive last Sunday morning to St. Paul, heading down the same Rice Street I'd traveled down many times growing up to see my relatives on my way to the show. After parking in a nearby ramp and enjoying a tasty lunch at the Eagle Street Grille, I wandered over to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time, patiently waiting in line for the gates to open.

At 1:30 p.m., the gates opened, and myself and the rest of the non-VIP crowd sauntered in. We were greeted to the sights of several authentic props and matte paintings from the Star Wars films. I stopped to pore over the Darth Vader, C-3PO, and Ewok costumes, and stare at the Han Solo in carbonite displays before the sight of stormtroopers walking behind me caught my eye. I walked further around the arena, admiring the storm troopers, TIE fighter pilots, a remote-controlled R2-D2 and Jango Fett before pausing to take a photo with Darth Vader. I admit I let my inner child get the best of me at that time, but you have to give me a little slack here- I mean, it's Darth FRIGGIN' Vader, one of the best movie villains of all time! I then stopped again as Boba Fett posed for a photo for me before deciding to head into the arena for the show.

I walked down the rows of seats to find my chair on the left corner of the first row, atop several black plywood planks covering the hockey arena floor. For several minutes, all I could hear around me were people talking and the background Star Wars sounds of pod racers, Wookiee growls, and the snap-hiss of lightsabers as the crowd and orchestra members began to fill in the Xcel Energy Center. Soon, the lights dimmed, and the 20th Century Fox theme began to play - a roar erupted from the crowd, as we all new what would be happening next!

After a raucous rendition of A New Hope's opening theme, the voice of James Earl Jones introduced our emcee, Mr. Anthony Daniels. I was ecstatic - I was sitting about 8 feet away from C-3PO himself! Daniels did a great job narrating the show, as the first half took us from the old Republic to the rise of the Galactic Empire. He even slipped into his old C-3PO character a couple of times, particularly during the Han Solo/Millenium Falcon section, where he reminded the audience that the "odds of successfuly navigating an asteriod field were 3,720 to 1."

Throughout the show, I focused my energy on listening to the amazing music, watching the film clips on the 100-foot LED screen behind the musicians, and watching the conductor, Daniels, and the musicians themselves. As the first half ended with the Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme), I felt very lucky to be watching this memorable performance.

After a 20-minute intermission, the show resumed, as Daniels took the audience on a journey from the birth of the Rebellion to the final defeat of the Empire at Endor. At different times during the show, the camera operator to the left of me deftly navigated the remote camera on a boom over the stage so that we could see the different musicians in the ensemble. While it did briefly obstruct my view at times, I liked getting to see the different artists perform their parts to perfection, from the violinists, french horn players and cellists, to the xylophonist and even the woman playing the triangle, who got a rousing cheer during the encore's performance of the Imperial March. Daniels, the conductor and the orchestra received a couple of well-deserved standing ovations after the encore.

Sunday afternoon's show was sold-out, and everyone I saw leaving the show had huge smiles on their faces. This was a terrific performance of classical music, and I think it had plenty of things for people of all ages to enjoy. I'm optimistic that this show will come out on DVD for those who missed this show and people who want to re-live this show to enjoy. If you missed out on this show, or yearn to hear the music again, many of the songs from this show are on the bonus DVD of the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith soundtrack, narrated by Ian McDiarmid, who played Senator-turned-Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in several of the Star Wars movies.