You may have heard the recent NieR concert series, NieR: Orchestra Concert 12024 [the end of data] making the rounds on video game news outlets due to an apparent tease for NieR 3 at the London performance. Well, before all that buzz, we had the chance to go to the LA showing at the Peacock Theater!
As the first NieR concert series since 2020, there was definitely a lot of excitement in the air. It was really fun to see fans dressed up in their NieR paraphernalia, and there were lots of cosplayers, too. We got to the venue a few hours early, and the line for the merch stall was already extremely long, and the stock was completely depleted well before the doors opened for attendees to head to their seats. It sounded like there was also at least one merch stall inside, but we didn’t even attempt to check it out with how flooded the one outside had been.
Before discussing the content of the concert itself, I wanted to mention some frustrations with the venue. Attendees lined up to enter at numerous entrances at least an hour before the concert was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., and there was no clear indication of where the lines were going or which doors were going to open.
By the time we got in line and made it to security to enter the theater, it was only a few minutes before 8, and we were turned away at the door because we had an iPad with us (no electronics!). Since we always make sure to check venue regulations before attending events, it was frustrating to suddenly be told something we brought with us wasn’t allowed. We rushed the iPad back to the car and still somehow made it back and were seated before the concert was underway. Phew!
The concert consisted of music from NieR Replicant and NieR: Automata, accompanied by visuals and text on a large screen. Instead of each piece standing alone with visuals from points in the games when the songs originally played, there were more abstract images on the screen such as snowfall or the bullet hell-style projectiles from the games. These scenes and text descriptions retold some of the key beats of the original stories in a surprisingly organic way.
The official website teased a new episode written by Yoko Taro and performed by 9S and 2B’s English voice actors, Kira Buckland and Kyle McCarley. These scenes were pre-recorded performances that played alongside text on the screen between songs. For those who don’t want to be spoiled, I’ll link to a summary of the new story on Reddit, but it was surprising to find out that it took place after ending E of NieR: Automata and seemed to reference the Automata church mod from 2022.
All of the songs from the 2+ hour concert were lovely, particularly “Song of the Ancients” and “Kainé.” Yoko Taro and composer Keiichi Okabe, along with singers Emi Evans and J’nique Nicole, took to the stage at the end, and Yoko Taro was as silly as he seems from his social media and occasional interviews. It was a really memorable night, and it made us want to go home and play NieR: Automata right away.