The Academy Award-winning film: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has one more achievement to add to its fame: a live concert. For one night only (September 23rd), Chicagoans were able to witness the Spider-Verse in a whole new dimension‒the Cadillac Palace Theatre. But ‘how can a movie be turned into a concert?’ one might ask. The music, by Daniel Pemberton, came to life with electronics, turntables, and an orchestra, all while the movie was playing on a big screen onstage. All in all, it was a new experience for such a timeless masterpiece.

For starters, the audio of the movie was much clearer; that is compared to viewing it in a movie theater or at home. This is not only because the sound was amplified through huge speakers that echoed about the performing arts theater, but also because the copy of the film was stripped of the soundtrack. Clearly, this was to prevent any overlap of the music. But the orchestra brought a little bit of their own flair; besides the fact that they played their own score over the credits, parts of the movie sounded completely different. The live instruments were more crisp than the soundtrack. I could hear the violin in scenes where I never noticed it. As for the turntables, the DJ was locked in and synchronized. Apparently, Pemberton needed to figure out how to notate the DJ’s parts for the scratch turntablism into the orchestral score. Whatever he did worked well because the live record scratches were particularly captivating (they were entirely different from the record scratches of the film’s soundtrack). The main themes of all the characters and motifs were essentially the same but sounded new at the same time. Hearing the individual instruments really brought out the emotion in each scene. Overall, replicating music is never exact, so I can say that this was a pretty unique experience.

Another aspect of the concert that was different and exciting was the fact that I watched it surrounded by fellow Chicagoans. The countless times I’ve watched this movie were unmatched by the positivity that this ephemeral viewing carried. For one night in Chicago, I was able to hear the laughter of the crowd during scenes that I too found amusing, and the ovation when the orchestra and turntables beautifully captured the thrilling sequence of our hero’s journey. During intermission and after the show, I could see viewers dressed in their Spider-Man paraphernalia, taking pictures, and ultimately, sharing Chicago’s love for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.