Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience Review-Philadelphia 2/26/17 (Minor Spoilers)

I knew the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience featuring Ramin Djawadi was going to be good but also feared it might be a little gimmicky since die-hard Thrones fans are known to throw their money at anything that provides a fix during the dark days without new Westeros material. After all, we are still months away from the Season 7 premiere and who knows how long until the 6th book, Winds of Winter, is released.  While the live concert did provide a fresh fix, it was not gimmicky at all. The stage set was beautiful and the musicians were so very talented. I read that a few of the instruments played during the concert were invented specifically for the live show. Some other types of instruments played (ones I can name anyway) included: piano, violin, cello, dulcimer, organ, percussion, horns, didgeridoo, etc.  It was an astounding performance and well worth going to see.

The show opens with the white raven of winter's coming flying across the 3 screens followed by a visual of the Doom of Valyria, swords clanking around in the vortex-like storm. This leads us into the Game of Thrones theme song where a large screen with two 3-tiered screens on either side proudly displays the sigils of the great (and feuding) houses of Westeros. Cheers explode as the audience cheers for their favorite houses. Targaryen and Stark gets the loudest support. I wasn't alone when I hooted ascent for the Lannister's but I definitely lacked support in my section. This part of the concert felt like being at a Medieval Times dinner show. In a good way. While the sigils are being displayed, the center screen lifts to reveal an Iron Throne on the main stage. The orchestra is revealed beneath one of the tiered screens and the show officially begins with a bang.

The first House theme played is Goodbye Brother-House Stark. The center screen displays a montage of the Starks in various stages leading to their downfall. A Weirwood tree takes the circular stage using the 3-tiered screen for the tree canopy and a gossamer fabric for the trunk. The violin soloist is at the *heart* of the tree, playing the haunting song from the inside as winter comes, and red leaves and snow begin to fall.

The next House theme played is What is Dead May Never Die-House Greyjoy. A solo cellist plays the Kraken's song on a wet stage as *waves* come up around her. Scenes highlighting the Greyjoy family are played but I'm a bit distracted by a woman who is talking loudly about how different the Greyjoy plotline is in the books. It annoys me, as we paid good money to hear a concert and not her opinion about book to show differences. I get it, Lady...I've read the books too but truthfully, no storyline was more butchered by the show than the poor Martells and I'm not complaining, so let me listen to the beautiful cellist do her thing and save your gripes for a more appropriate setting.

Next is Rains of Castamere, the song about how Tywin Lannister extinguished House Reyne of Castamere for testing and disrespecting House Lannister following the death of Tywin's father. It is often played in Westeros in admiration (and fear) of Tywin and the Lannister family's strength and guile. A soloist in a Lannister crimson gown sang the lyrics beautifully. The piano was the perfect accompaniment and as the song built around the chorus, the rest of the symphony joined in while the soloist belted out the climax of the song. The effect was captivating.

Rains of Castamere by George R.R. Martin

The next couple of songs, Reign and Sons of the Harpy, showcase Daenerys' rise to becoming the Mother of Dragons, Queen of Meereen, and hopeful conquerer of the Seven Kingdoms. This is followed by a song titled Needle which highlights Arya's journey from Westeros to Braavos. I couldn't help thinking I wished the show had consolidated Arya's Braavos story arc as efficiently as the song did but I digress.

I forget exactly where it was on the set list, but Jon Snow's theme, Now My Watch Has Ended, played to scenes of his resurrection.  After Sansa makes her way to the Wall to seek help from her *brother* Jon Snow (R+L=J), we are reminded that the Starks are still in the fight. Iconic scenes from the Battle of the Bastards episode play with the music as Sansa and Jon rally the North (and the Vale) to take Winterfell back from Ramsay Bolton. This transitions into Bran Stark scenes where, through his visions, he learns the part his warging (taking temporary possession of Hodor)  had in Hodor's death. The violin during Hold the Door was tear-jerking as we watched Hodor 'hold the door' to the Weirwood entrance (dying as a result of his sacrifice) so crippled Bran and Meera could escape the tree which had been infiltrated by White Walkers (aka The Others) and Wights (the army of the dead raised by the Others). 

The Light of the Seven score was a perfect lead up to the Winds of Winter finale. The execution of Cersei's scheme to blow up the Great Sept of Baelor with wildfire while all of her enemies are inside of it, left me on the edge of my seat despite the fact I knew it was coming.  Ramin Djawadi himself was on piano for this song. I loved how, as the music began to build, Queen Margaery realizes something is gravely wrong. She notes Cersei's (and King Tommen's) absence from her own trial despite the consequences and pleads with the High Septon to evacuate the Sept. The chaos unfolds over an ominous organ and when the Sept goes up in green flames, so does the stage around the piano. Just. Wow.

The show closes with Winds of Winter and reminds us that war and political power are distractions to the real threat unfolding north of the Wall...the war between the living and the dead (White Walkers and their dead army). The music here feels victorious and foreboding at the same time. Like the show, the concert ties in scenes to remind us where all of the characters leave off in Season 6.

Ramin Djawadi comes out to center stage to thank the audience for coming, shows a GOT Season 7 teaser, and concludes the concert with a Memorandum to the characters we lost on the show to the upbeat Westeros tune, The Bear and the Maiden Fair. I was grateful that I had rightly figured the concert experience would be PG since we had already decided it would be suitable for my 7 year old to attend. It was a totally kid-friendly intro to Game of Thrones!  I was excited about his enthusiasm during the show and loved answering his questions about the series (he favors the Starks/Direwolves) that the concert inspired. It was a great time for all of us and I was glad I could experience the story in a whole new way through the music with the people I love most. My one complaint, 2+ hours went by entirely too fast.

Some cool facts about the production of Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience

No Spoilers: HBO's Game of Thrones won't spoil the books for me Part 1

HBO's Game of Thrones has surpassed the published material of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Will the plot liberties showrunners have taken spoil the upcoming books?

Articles have been written about this. Friends have asked me about it. My response:  I'm not worried at all. Here's why.

It takes Roy Dotrice about 208 hours to read the first 5 Song of Ice and Fire audio books. I will assume approximately 80 hours for the final two books. HBO's adaptation of Game of Thrones averages about 55 minutes per episode but let's assume an hour for each over 6 seasons and estimate the series so far at 60 hours of content. It has been confirmed that the HBO series will complete the series in 2 additional seasons with a shorter episode count. At this point, 13 episodes all together until the series finale. 

After all is said and done:
Show only watchers: 73 hours of story.
Book readers: 288 hours of story including the last 2 books. (This doesn't even include the World of Ice and Fire, Knights of the Realm, and countless hours one can spend theory-crafting characters and plot lines)


My non-spoiler examples of why the show couldn't possibly ruin the book for me:

1. At least 5 main characters with complex story lines in the books, don't even EXIST on the show.
2. At least 5 characters that are dead on the show  are still alive in the books.
3. At least 5 story lines on the show are not even close to their book arcs (Sansa, Dorne, The North Remembers, to name a few)
4. At least 5 character journeys in the books have not happened in the show.
5. Last but not least, George R.R. Martin hasn't decided on the ending of the series but says it will have a bittersweet ending (in the vein of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy). Even HBO showrunners agree that the show won't spoil the books. 

My approach to the HBO show and the ASOIAF books is to treat them as two totally different obsessions. Both are amazing and both approach the story in different ways but book readers are without a doubt  treated to so much more. 

Winds of Winter: A compilation of released chapters

I'm quite behind on my reviews, characters and theory analysis of  A Song of Ice and Fire (and my reviews for Neil Gaiman's Sandman for that matter) but as my blog is young and I'm also a busy parent, wife, and multi-tasker extraordinaire, I will forgive myself and hope any random readers do too (Wink).

For all the groaners who complain about how long it takes Mr. Martin to write a book let me break down a couple of published statistics and considerations.

• According to Amazon's Text Stats, an average novel is approximately 64,000 words long
• George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is (without Winds of Winter is approximately 1,770,000 words long. 
• Game of Thrones, the first book of the epic series, was published in 1996. 
• According to the average length of a novel, A Song of Ice and Fire  (so far) is the equivalent to approximately 28 books.

I think the equivalent of 28 books in 20 years is pretty acceptable. It is the kind of series that takes time. It's many characters and plots are intricately positioned and even seemingly unimportant dialogue is sometimes a part of a wheel within a wheel.

That isn't to say I don't share the anticipation of Winds of Winter with fellow fans of the series. The fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, was released in 2011 and I'm just as eager for the next installment as anyone. In an effort to ease the pain of the wait, I thought I would include a consolation from an amazing discovery I found on AngryGOTFan.com. With gratitude to the time it took to gather this together, I'm pleased to share almost 200 pages of The Winds of Winter compiled into one PDF. At approximately 45,000 words and 11 chapters, it is already a short novel worth of story. The rest of the book will come out when it comes out.

In the words of Neil Gaiman, "George R.R. Martin is not your bitch."  Enjoy and happy waiting!

Stranger Things: The consolation show that filled the hole Game of Thrones left behind

After a season of Game of Thrones ends, I get into a funk. Having to wait a year for it to return is my First World definition of torture. Sure, I find solace in the fact that George R.R. Martin HAS to be close to finishing Winds of Winter and that there are still plenty of Thrones related theories to lose myself in (after all, you are nothing in GOT unless you might be a secret Targaryen) but the truth is I am just as eager for new content as the next obsessive ASOIAF SuperFan!

So in easing the pain that the end of Season 6 Game of Thrones left behind, I decided to catch up with some other shows I love, Penny Dreadful, Shameless, & Outlander...Then one night, Jeremiah put on Stranger Things, and it blew my mind in the best way.  It is a Netflix original series so if ever there was a reason to take advantage of a free trial, this show is that reason. Seriously, sign up now! Stranger Things is nearly perfect. I give it a 10/10 (to measure the rarity of this high praise one should know I gave Game of Thrones S6 an 8/10)

The show is an 8 chapter miniseries created by the Duffer Brothers. It takes place in 1983 in a small, quiet  town in Indiana which is turned upside down by the disappearance of  a young boy, Will Byers. The story follows Will's family, his closest friends, a telekinetic girl, and a police chief, who despite contrary evidence, refuse to give up their search to find Will alive. The story unfolds in an addictive way giving a lot of information in small doses and providing half answers to a much bigger plot. The conclusion of the series provides resolve without solving every mystery. As a result, it is perfectly poised for a second season (confirmed).

In the typical vein of addiction, my husband and I binged watched all 8 Chapters. I had no self control and nor did I try. 3 days it took us to complete the series and it would've taken less than that if other obligations didn't get in the way (you know, like parenting). We even managed to watch an episode during our camping trip at High Point State Park (thank goodness for good cellular service).  Jer and I crept into our tent huddled close under the tiny screen and split a the ear buds between us (which freed our other ear up to contemplate worse case scenarios for every noise in the woods that night).

A mildly spoilery list of what I love about this show (not comprehensive):

1. The incredible casting of Winona Ryder as Will Byers mother, Joyce...I have been waiting for her comeback for a LONG time and as I anticipated, she didn't disappoint.

2. The childhood nostalgia! It took place in 1983. Granted I was only 4 years old in 1983 but this was MY generation! Stranger Things was overflowing with Easter eggs...HeMan, The Clash, movie posters for The Thing and Evil Dead (oh, the memories of my cousin's Fangoria magazines), the synthesized organ music that set the tone for so many great horror movies of the 80s (I still shudder when I hear the Halloween score), Dungeons and Dragons (reminded me of the Boys I liked best growing up), and so much more.

3. The Underneath-who doesn't like the terrifying possibility of another dimension? Will seems so close yet so far as his mother communicates with him through the electricity in her house in a vibe similar to Poltergeist and one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes, Little Girl Lost.

4. The child actors are second to none. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Calab McLaughlin), and (my favorite) Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), are brilliant in their roles. I don't subscribe to awards per se, but these actors should all be nominated for Emmy's.

5. Mr. Clarke (Randall P. Havens), the science teacher of Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin. His role is small but dynamic and I love how the kids call him on a Saturday night to ask him questions about things like sensory deprivation and other dimensions. I love how Mr. Clarke gently reproaches the Boys while giving them the answers they are looking for.

6. Police Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is a pill popping police chief with a history. This is normally a cliche but in Stranger Things, it's a perfectly executed art form.

7. The story arcs built around the different approaches to finding Will. These include the efforts of:  1.Will's best friends (with the help of the telekinetic Eleven and a Dungeons and Dragons play guide)  2. Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers, and 3.Will's brother, Jonathan Byers and Mike's sister, Nancy Wheeler (her friend disappeared as well).

8. The show provides satisfaction without leaving you completely satiated and resolve that doesn't give you   exactly what you want or expect.

Brilliant writing, amazing acting, and phenomenal direction are the beating heart of Stranger Things. If you like a supernatural mystery with a conspiracy twist, this is it. Do yourself a favor, believe the hype this time.

Balticon50 Part 3: Meeting George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin limits the amount of autographs he does at conventions and securing a spot during one of Balticon's scheduled sessions was my top priority. It wasn't so much the autograph for me. I had pre-ordered the autographed Balticon50 special edition of GRRM's 'In the House of the Worm' so I was covered there. What I really wanted was simply to meet my favorite author and after years of being a superfan, Jer, Jonas and I were finally set to meet George.

I always thought I would meet George eventually and now it was happening. Naturally, the anticipation of this meeting made me feel a bit anxious. I tried not to have too many expectations but I would be lying if I said I didn't have any. I knew our time with him would be brief but I was excited for it and hoped the short moments would leave a positive impression. It would have been disappointing if he turned out to be disconnected, signing autographs like an automaton on autopilot.

I spent some time prior to the convention thinking of a way to make the experience unique and found the answer in dragon eggs. Jonas had a 'Knights of the Roundtable' themed birthday party and we made Game of Thrones inspired dragon eggs out of thumbtacks to use as decoration. I used them again as decor for our annual Feast of Ice and Fire that we have on the night of the Season Premiere of GOT. Not to brag, but Jonas and I did an amazing job on the dragon eggs.. 

Our awesome dragon eggs made out of 1500 individually lacquered thumbtacks.

So after some deliberation, Jonas and I agreed that when we met George we would give him one of our prized dragon eggs. For those of you who don't know Jonas, he is a pack rat. He doesn't like to get rid of anything, including socks that no longer even function as socks anymore. He loathes the idea of parting with anything so when he semi-happily agreed to the idea, I was pleasantly surprised. The black 'Drogon' inspired egg was out of the question for Jonas but we compromised and agreed on giving GRRM the white-gold 'Viserion' inspired egg.

The morning we were to meet George R.R. Martin began with me forgetting my Balticon badge at the hotel. It was not a long walk to the hotel but we were halfway to the convention and I wanted to be as early as possible to ensure a good spot in line (which turned out to be a non-issue). I prayed that Balticon had a contingency plan for scatterbrains like me and gratefully they did. I got my replacement badge and Jer, Jonas, and I started to mingle in the gathering crowd outside the autograph room. We didn't really have to do that since our tickets (which were first come, first serve) had numbers on them and were being called in groups of 20. Based on your number, you may have had time to walk around the convention before coming back and being called. This was awesome because when you were called in to the room, it felt incredibly intimate and relaxed.

When it was our turn to meet George, Jonas handed him his copy of 'The Ice Dragon' and George signed it jovially, shaking Jonas' hand. Jonas then handed George the dragon egg and George exclaimed, "It's a dragon egg! If I sit on it, will it hatch?" Jonas said he didn't think it would but we both agreed we couldn't be absolutely certain. George laughed warmly and thanked us for the egg. He paused and turned to Jonas and said, "I feel I need to pay you for the egg..." He then went to his pocket and plucked a Faceless Man coin down on the table. Jonas smiled impishly and took the coin. I whispered to Jonas to say 'Valar Morghulis' which George answered, "Valar Dohaeris". We had a few more moments of easy small talk before Jeremiah brought up a copy of GRRM's novel, 'Armageddon Rag', to be signed. It was actually a book that was lent to me by our neighbor Robert, and I thought it would be fun to give it back to him signed by the author.  It was a great book but for some reason didn't sell very well. George joked with Jer saying, "So, you're the one who bought this book!"  Our meeting with George R.R. Martin is an experience my family and I will always treasure.

Meeting George

I didn't get to have any philosophical discussions with George, but truthfully, I liked it better that way. I had already spent so much time connecting to George through his books that I was looking for a personal, human connection. A brief exchange that would give me a real glimpse of the man with a 1000 worlds in his brain. One may think this isn't possible to know in the few minutes we had, but it is. George has given us so much. He gave Jonas 'The Ice Dragon'. He gave Jer 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. And he gave me all that and so much more. I was glad I could finally thank him for it.

Coming Soon: Balticon50 Part 4: Panels and Convention Highlights