Final Fantasy

Final Fantasy
Tues. November 6, 2007
Drunken Unicorn
Atlanta, GA

Final Fantasy is, for all intents and purposes, Owen Pallett. This skilled Canadian violist is a charismatic and dazzling performer. During live shows, he uses a foot pedal-controlled sampler to record and loop back his violin, creating layer upon layer of texture and melody. He is also known to win over fans with his sharp wit and humor, displayed equally in his lyrics as his between song banter. Arcade Fire fans might remember Final Fantasy as the opening performer during their Funeral tour. After his opening solo set, Pallett would join Arcade Fire on stage as second violin. Lesser known, however, is that Pallett was also responsible for co-writing the string arrangements on both Funeral and Neon Bible.

Pallett's experience as a composer doesn't end with indie rock. While in college, Pallett composed two operas, and then went out to score several films. Appropriately enough, given his video game inspired-moniker, he's also written music for the PC game Traffic Department 2192.

UK fans might recognize his song "Adventure.exe" as it was used in a number of Orange commercials. If you're turned off by an artist "selling out" in this way, wait until you hear the whole story. As it turns out, Pallett did not intend to sell his song for this purpose at all, but there was some miscommunication with his record label and its use with authorized. Pallett chose to donate all income from the commercial to the charitable organization Doctors Without Borders.

In 2006, Pallet released his acclaimed sophomore record "He Poos Clouds." Despite the tongue in cheek title, the record was awarded the inaugural Polaris Music Prize.

In response to criticism regarding the apparent offensiveness of the record title, Pallett has announced that his next album, due to release in 2008, will be genteelly titled "Heartland."