You can check out NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] on the official website, on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram.
You can check out upcoming tour dates and find tickets available for purchase here.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
If you’re like me, then you want to know whether or not NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] is worth seeing without having anything about the contents of it spoiled. The answer is that if you are a fan of NieR, Yoko Taro, and Keiichi Okabe, then unequivocally yes: you should absolutely go because you will love every moment of it.
The composition selection is fantastic, the story plot is well-done, and I was more than a little impressed with how simply Yoko Taro-esque it all felt. Just one word of warning: This concert will spoil the plot, in detail, through ending E of NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… and the grand majority of NieR:Automata. Also, if you haven’t played either game in a while, you might want to refresh yourself on the finer points of both before you go.
In short, I am giving NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] a perfect score, as it is a concert that no NieR-lover should miss out on.
If you’re looking for a more spoiler-filled review about everything but the concert’s canon plot details, then read on below the image of Yoko Taro!
SPOILER REVIEW
When I bought the ticket back in July 2023 for the debut performance of NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] in Los Angeles for January 27, 2024, I had not played either of the NieR titles or any of Yoko Taro’s other titles besides a little bit of the now-defunct SINoALICE mobile game, his FINAL FANTASY XIV Online tie-in content, and watching the BABYLON’S FALL event online. I ended up playing through both NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… and NieR:Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition in the months leading up to the concert. And even though I mildly groaned at having to complete both games five times, I did so and found a wonderful, unique, and different world in each game with memorable characters. I actually wrapped up NieR:Automata and its DLC a week and a half before the concert started.
I am glad I did so, because this concert is designed for those gamers who have wrung out every drop of plot-related gameplay they could. Everything from the game’s beginning until the end of Ending E in NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is described and shown in depth throughout the show. NieR:Automata isn’t spoiled quite as deeply, but almost all of the major twists-and-turns of that game are covered here too. If you haven’t played both games, then you’re probably going to be lost plot-wise for quite a bit of the concert’s story.
Yes, this concert has a story scenario that fits fairly neatly into the storyline of NieR:Automata. While I will not go into depth about the plot itself, I will say that I was drawn rather deeply into it. The voice recordings by 2B (Kira Buckland) and 9S (Kyle McCarley) both fit in perfectly with how the characters were brought to life in the game a half-decade ago, and I was impressed with how strong the voice direction and script writing was. It really felt like Yoko Taro put a great deal of time into making sure that NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data]’s plotline didn’t feel like a rushed, unimportant piece of NieR lore but was instead a true labor of love.
Amazing cosplay was everywhere at NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data]. (Photos by author).
What surprised me more than anything else about NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data]’s plot was how he integrated it into the two-hour-and-change concert. Ordinarily with a video game orchestra concert, a selected video game composition is played while gameplay content and cutscenes relevant to that particular piece is played in the background. Then, another piece is played afterwards and different cutscenes and gameplay are shown. It serves to invoke different emotions for, say Aerith’s Theme and Chocobo Medley, in the viewer because they use wildly different accompanying scenes and music.
NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] takes a different tact. Before most of the 21 musical pieces, the plot would continue on the screen via voiceover and text like how the storyline was told in the Forest of Myth in NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… or in the Devola & Popola’s Memories novels from NieR:Automata. The vignettes would then frequently tie into the next musical selection either directly or thematically. Later on in the concert, 2B and 9S’s plotline itself would suddenly continue through text on the paired video screen. This smartly made the entire concert into a single, continuous story that I have not seen since the FINAL FANTASY VII: A Symphonic Reunion concert in June 2019 that I reviewed.
Unlike that one-off performance, however, NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] amazingly succeeds. You will find yourself flowing from musical piece to musical piece, your attention and your heart drawing deeper into 2B and 9S’s adventure, clinging to every word that appears on the screen and that comes through the audio setup as Yoko Taro made something simply special here. Most importantly, it truly felt like a fully-realized and canon episode of the NieR universe instead of a cash-grab side project.
If you’ve played through both NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… and NieR:Automata, then something you’ve probably noticed is that there are not a ton of rendered cutscenes in those games like you would find in a modern FINAL FANTASY or KINGDOM HEARTS franchise game. At least, there certainly is not enough to fill up two hours of performance in both games. NieR series director Yoko Taro and series composer Keiichi Okabe decided to smartly intermix clips of cutscenes with panning shots of various areas in the two games and by using effects such as blossoming fire and colorful polygon lines in sync with the music. While you would think this would be detrimental to the show itself, that couldn’t be any further from the truth, as the non-cutscene graphics’ synchronicity with the music really elevated each other in a way I wasn’t expecting. The unique ways in which the cutscenes were also often shown (which I am deliberately not sharing to keep it a surprise) also served to keep me on my toes with anticipation of what would be coming next.
The orchestra, titled the NieR Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, was expertly conducted by Eric Roth. I immediately recognized him, as he had previously conducted the April 2022 A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY performance at Hertz Hall in Berkeley, California that I attended. While he did not chat with the audience between pieces like he did at that prior show, his conducting mastery was on display. He kept the live orchestra perfectly in sync with the video, and he was able to make sure that all of the orchestra was presented as a unified vision. The NieR Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus themselves gave a top-tier performance as well. They presented the different pieces clearly and cleanly, and I did not hear any obvious mistakes in their performance. I would like to draw special attention to the chimes – you will hear those in various points throughout NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data], and they always rang clearly through the surrounding orchestra while not overpowering everyone else. The chorus, which I gave up trying to count after close to 20 people, managed to sing the made-up ‘Chaos Language’ lyrics clearly and distinctly.
The other real stars of the show are the two singers who sang on NieR:Automata’s OST: Emi Evans and J’Nique Nicole. Both artists came on at multiple times throughout the show to sing various tracks, but their standout performance was Weight of the World. You could tell that everyone in the Peacock Theater was focused only upon them, and they earned every bit of the applause they got. Both Emi Evans and J’Nique Nicole have extremely unique voices. I loved how they brought themselves into harmony with each other in the Chaos Language while singing various songs, and that is something that I cannot imagine being easy. Finally, the dresses they both wore – Emi Evans in blue and J’Nique Nicole in red – were both incredibly striking and really helped to make them stand out among the darker colors of the orchestra.
NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data]’s concert length itself was surprising, despite being split into the standard two-parts-and-an-intermission-plus-encore. Clocking the show from when the first piece started, the first half went for 48 minutes, then there was a 23-minute intermission, and then the final part plus encore was an hour and five minutes long. Adding in the late start time and the pre-performance introduction by Keiichi Okabe, the show lasted until about 10:50 PM, and I wasn’t able to get out of the building until 11 PM. If you’re going to see a subsequent show, definitely take the late start and finish into consideration for your parking/transportation needs.
Finally, I need to talk about NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data]’s merchandise and how it was sold. In what would be a first for me having attended so many of these type of concerts in the past, the company handling the merchandise started selling the merch four-and-a-half hours before the show itself started outside of the venue. There were clearly marked queue lines that snaked back and forth through the outdoors plaza, and they only took card. I arrived an hour-and-40 minutes before they started to sell merchandise, and I was able to buy anything and everything I wanted from the show. While a lot of the items were also available on the SQUARE ENIX Online Store, there were unique concert items such as T-shirts, keychains, and postcards available to buy. The line also moved incredibly quickly, and I was able to get all my buying done within about 20 minutes.
The biggest surprise with the merchandise though? They held back a significant amount of it for purchase inside of the event hall itself. I ventured my way to the mezzanine floor 10 minutes before the official (and ultimately delayed) start time to see that even after 50 minutes had passed since the Peacock Theatre’s doors opened, there were still plenty of T-shirts of all sizes available for purchase. It really felt like that if you wanted a T-shirt for NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data], you could absolutely get one if you put a bit of pre-planning into it. I sincerely hope that SQUARE ENIX and AWR Music Productions adopts this practice of selling merchandise for all future concerts that they both have a hand in.
While I have extolled the many, many, positive aspects of NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data], there are three small issues I had with the concert. First, the late start time. This was the first video game orchestral concert I’ve attended that had a significant delay in start time (20 minutes, or so?). Second, there was a very minor volume level issue with J’Nique Nicole’s microphone for her first performance, but it was corrected by the time she returned to the stage. Finally, in what is probably the only true hiccup of the evening, it was announced that the voice performers for 2B and 9S were in the audience for the performance towards the end of the show. Everyone started to look around for them, and they were not spotlighted and did not stand up for everyone to see. That was more than a little baffling. All three of these were ultimately minor issues, however, and did not detract from the overall show.
Overall, NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] was fantastic. Yoko Taro and Keiichi Okabe did an amazing job creating a show for fans of the NieR franchise, and their heartwarming statements at the beginning/end of the show really made my night.
If you love NieR and you can get tickets to the show, even if you can’t get to participate in a meet and greet session, then you have to go because you will not regret a second of it. NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] is an orchestral masterpiece and you must not miss out on it. I almost never give out a perfect score for an orchestral video game-inspired concert, but NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] is something truly special.
| NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] Setlist (January 27, 2024)
1. Crumbling Lies INTERMISSION 9. Copied City ENCORE 21. Kainé |
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| Overall |  |
You can check out upcoming tour dates and find tickets available for purchase here.
Did you attend NieR:Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] in Los Angeles?
What musical piece are you most excited to hear?
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