Star Trek: the Music.

I went with friends to see the KW Symphony perform a selection of tunes from the movies & various serious of Star Trek. I should put it out there: i own a boxed set of CDs from the original Star Trek series. I love the music that Alexander Courage put together for that show, probably for nostalgic reasons, but also because it's so damned good & innovative. I am a pretty big Star Trek fan & have been since childhood, so i know most of the music (though not all, as we'll discover later).

We arrived early & popped into the bar for coffee & beer. There were a few people dressed up in costumes from the show. We got to our (excellent) seats - orchestra pit style - and got comfortable for the show. The conductor strode in, and was a dynamic bowtied gentleman who reminded me of Les Nessman's cooler brother. The band launched into various themes from the original series. As my one friend remarked, when the bongos kicked in, it was a done deal. After playing a couple of selections, the tuxedoed hosts walked out, namely Robert Picardo & John DeLancie (or the Doctor & Q, if you will). They were both endearing & funny. A LOT of inside jokes & self-deprecation throughout the evening, which the audience swallowed like (ahem) a finely aged Romulan Ale.

There were some really cool instruments used in the orchestra. A Water-phone, which looked kind of like a bottle with vertical metal bars surrounding it, played with a bow. During the "Wrath of Khan" selections, the band swung those ribbed plastic whistley hoses over their heads, making familiar deep space sounds. I'd forgotten how good the theme from Deep Space 9 was, with the trombones & trumpets soaring above it all.

I was slightly confused by some of the promised visuals/special effects. The visuals seemed to consist of a couple of gobos and a lot of light dimming. The audio stuff included some familiar sound effects i.e. battle sounds, ships decloaking, etc. I had to laugh when Picardo joked "if you recognize that sound as The Genesis Project weapon from Wrath of Khan, you need to get a life". I recognized it. What i did NOT clue into was the fact that the tune from The Next Generation is basically the same as the theme from the first Star Trek movie. I had no idea! I thought the band was making a mistake. I have seen the original movie once, in the theatre. I've seen most of the other ones dozens of times. Time for a rewatch!

There was a real nice dynamic between the conductor - who wasn't afraid to joke & ham it up - and the 2 hosts. That really added to the enjoyment of the show. Lots of good humour between them and many good natured jibes at the show & actors involved. The commentary about Roddenberry stating flat out that Star Trek 5 was the worst movie he'd seen was hilarious, as well as the good natured jabs at Leonard Nimoy trying to get Spock killed off, then revived, etc.

The music sounded great. It brought back a lot of memories for me and i'm sure for the rest of the audience. Everyone there just loved it and gave the band a standing ovation.