MARVEL STUDIOS’ INFINITY SAGA CONCERT EXPERIENCE
Music composed by Alan Silvestri, Michael Giacchino, Danny Elfman, Ramin Djawadi, Alan Menken, Christophe Beck, Pinar Toprak, Ludwig Göransson, Mark Mothersbaugh, Patrick Doyle, Tyler Bates, and Lorne Balfe.
Music conducted by Hirofumi Kurita
Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
June 14, 2025
Pacifico Yokohama National Convention Hall
Yokohama, Japan
PART 1: FROM CULTURAL PHENOMENON TO THE CONCERT HALL
Ingrained in pop culture and proudly taking its place as the highest grossing film franchise of all time, it was only a matter of time until the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) made its way to the concert hall as a live-to-picture concert experience.
Well, the “Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience” has now arrived and is touring the world with shows around the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, and many other countries.
PART 2: LIGHT IT UP
As the event title suggests, the “Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience” is exactly that: a concert “experience” that covers the films and its music from “The Infinity Saga” which began all the way in 2008 with IRON MAN and ended with SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME in 2019.
The music is performed by full orchestra while carefully edited film montages are projected onto a large screen above the orchestra. For the Japan performance I attended last weekend, a pre-recorded choir was also used during key set pieces.
So, why is this event billed as a concert “experience”?
Each concert attendee receives a complimentary electronic bracelet that we are asked to put on and activate before the concert begins.
Turning it on causes it to light up during key moments of the concert – for example, it flashes white when Thor’s Mjölnir is radiating lightning, and it lights up green when Thanos finally gets his hands on the Time Stone in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.
Whether or not this adds to the experience or serves as a distraction is really up to you – personally, I felt it was unnecessary as seeing some of the MCU’s most iconic scenes backed by full orchestra was already quite an experience in itself.
PART 3: THE SET LIST
Before I get into a detailed report of the performance I attended in Yokohama last weekend, let me list below what I believe the set list to be:
– FIRST HALF –
- MARVEL STUDIOS FANFARE (Michael Giacchino)
- AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (Danny Elfman) – “New Avengers – Avengers: Age of Ultron”
- IRON MAN (Ramin Djawadi & AC/DC) – Suite and “Back in Black”
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (Alan Silvestri & Alan Menken) – Suite included “Kruger Chase” and “Star Spangled Man”
- THOR (Patrick Doyle) – Suite
- THOR: RAGNAROK (Mark Mothersbaugh) – Suite included “Thor: Ragnarok”
- THE AVENGERS (Alan Silvestri) – Suite included “The Avengers”
- DOCTOR STRANGE (Michael Giacchino) – Theme
- ANT-MAN (Christophe Beck) – “Theme from Ant-Man”
- ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (Christophe Beck) – “It Ain’t Over Till The Wasp Lady Stings”
- SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (Michael Giacchino) – Suite included parts of “Spider-Man: Homecoming Suite”
- CAPTAIN MARVEL (Pinar Toprak) – Theme
- BLACK PANTHER (Ludwig Göransson) – Suite included “Wakanda” and “Killmonger”
– SECOND HALF –
- MARVEL STUDIOS FANFARE (Michael Giacchino) – Extended version
- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Blue Swede) – “Hooked on a Feeling”
- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 2 (Tyler Bates & James Gunn) – Suite included “Guardians Inferno” and “Guardians of the Frickin’ Galaxy”
- AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (Alan Silvestri) – Suite included “What Did It Cost?”
- AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Alan Silvestri) – Suite
- BLACK WIDOW (Lorne Balfe) – “A Sister Says Goodbye”
- AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Alan Silvestri) – Suite included “Portals,” “The Real Hero,” and “Main on End”
To be honest, it was a bit of a challenge coming up with the above list!
In addition to my rather shoddy memory, I’ve relied on resources such as the official playlist as well as fan-recorded videos on YouTube. I may have made an error or two, so please reach out if you have any corrections or additions. Thanks in advance!
And by the way, if you wish to further explore the musical catalogues of some of the incredible composers above, please check out the following review pages for Alan Silvestri, Michael Giacchino, Alan Menken, Danny Elfman, and Patrick Doyle. You’ll be surprised to find that these composers are also responsible for some of the most iconic soundtracks of all time!
PART 4: THE FIRST HALF
The concert kicked off the only way it could with a thrilling performance of Michael Giacchino’s classic Marvel Studios Fanfare.
A short introductory clip then followed with key characters explaining The Avengers’ raison d’être. This short but stirring montage received the backing of a gangbusters performance of the Danny Elfman piece, “New Avengers – Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which itself contains snippets of Alan Silvestri’s iconic theme for THE AVENGERS.
A lengthy musical suite from IRON MAN came next accompanied by scenes of Tony Stark’s escape from the cave to his first test flight as Iron Man.
This entire sequence was underscored by Ramin Djawadi’s energetic rock-based score and AC/DC’s iconic “Back in Black.” All credit to the elderly gentleman at the drum kit who was letting loose and bringing us along for the ride!
One major disappointment about the IRON MAN suite is that no music was played from Brian Tyler or John Debney’s fantastic IRON MAN scores… I would have killed to have heard a live performance of “Can you dig it (Iron Man 3 Main Titles)” from IRON MAN 3.
It was now time for an Alan Silvestri action music extravaganza with a blistering suite of music from CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. “Kruger Chase” was a particular standout, serving only to remind us that Silvestri is unmatched when it comes to classic orchestral action music.
The suite also included a fun performance of Alan Menken’s catchy “Star Spangled Man,” the faux wartime song that bookends the CD release of the soundtrack.
The suite from THOR featured a fine performance of Patrick Doyle’s epic theme for Thor as well as a wildly satisfying rock-take on Mark Mothersbaugh’s music from THOR: RAGNAROK.
The “drum kit guy” was at it again and delivering the goods in spades – it was impossible to not want to bang my head along as he rocked like a boss to Mothersbaugh’s infectious theme.
THE AVENGERS were now ready to assemble with a tight and cleverly edited film montage of the final battle in New York. Needless to say, this featured a thrilling and deeply heroic performance of Silvestri’s “The Avengers” as our heroes gather to take on the invading alien army.
A medley of musical themes from The Avengers’ minor (and not so minor) characters came next.
Giacchino’s catchy theme from DOCTOR STRANGE came first with a straight orchestral arrangement, although I do wish it had been closer to the psychedelic arrangement heard in “The Master of the Mystic End Credits” on the original soundtrack album.
Now, how can anyone not love Christophe Beck’s “Theme from Ant-Man”?
Heroic yet tongue-in-cheek, it’s one of my favourite character themes (and character!) from the whole MCU series. Coupled with the Wasp’s theme in “It Ain’t Over Till The Wasp Lady Stings,” I could do nothing but grin while the orchestra powered through the music.
With so much incredible music written by Michael Giacchino for Tom Holland’s three SPIDER-MAN films, I was expecting a full suite of music and extended montage devoted to this iconic character.
But the short suite we got was still pretty damn good – it contained a fair chunk of the stupendous “Spider-Man: Homecoming Suite” from SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING and underscored select scenes from the ATM robbery, the airport fight, the cruise ship breaking apart, and the moment Peter Parker is trapped and trying to get out from under the concrete.
As a sucker for melancholy music, I only wish the suite had included the heartbreaking music for the death of aunt May (“A Doom with a View”) from SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – although I realize this film is outside the Infinity Saga and therefore would not have belonged.
CAPTAIN MARVEL was represented by Pinar Toprak’s short but memorable title track on the digital-only soundtrack release. Despite the trumpet parts sounding quite challenging, the trumpeters in the orchestra nailed it.
As the only Oscar-winning score in the MCU, the suite from Ludwig Göransson’s BLACK PANTHER immediately commanded our attention with the arresting (pre-recorded) ethnic vocals of “Wakanda.” Followed by a barrage of percussion to underscore the fight scenes between T’Challa and Killmonger, it ended with parts of “Killmonger” with its ethnic flutes and catchy modern beats.
The first half of the concert then ended with THE AVENGERS post-credit scene introducing us to Thanos sitting on his asteroid throne.
PART 5: THE SECOND HALF
The second half opened with an extended arrangement of Giacchino’s Marvel Studios Fanfare.
The welcome sounds of “ooga chaka, ooga chaka” then filled the auditorium to signal the arrival of a suite of music from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY volumes 1 and 2.
“Hooked on a Feeling” was then followed by the hilariously camp “Guardians Inferno” while scenes of a baby Groot dancing were projected on screen. The suite concluded with the touching “Guardians of the Frickin’ Galaxy” by Tyler Bates.
It was now time to bring out the big guns with scenes and music from INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME.
For both films, the concert focussed on the finales with tightly edited montages that hit all the key moments.
For the heart-stopping finale of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, I was so caught up with the images being projected on screen that I totally forgot that a live orchestra was performing music to the film!
But I do remember hearing “What Did It Cost?”, a classic Silvestri composition of death and doom that plays as Thanos finally gets the Mind Stone to complete the Infinity Gauntlet.
And then “the snap” and the audience fell silent as images of beings disintegrating and being blown away into the wind were shown.
The screen then darkened until the words “FIVE YEARS LATER” slowly appeared.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME included more than just scenes from the finale.
It started with Vision and Wanda talking outside a kebab shop in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are soon attacked by Glaive and Proxima Midnight who gain the upper hand and are about to kill them before a most welcome visitor appears from behind a passing train: Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. And with him came a glorious and spine-tingling performance of Silvestri’s “The Avengers” theme.
Next came an unexpected but touching tribute to BLACK WIDOW with a beautifully cut montage set to the music of Lorne Balfe. It was basically an orchestral arrangement of Balfe’s “A Sister Says Goodbye,” a tragic and heartrending piece.
It was now time for THAT final battle in AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
While it was not the entire sequence, it was very well edited – again, hats off to whoever edited these montages for the concert – and flowed seamlessly to include all of the finale’s key moments as Silvestri’s score blazed heroically in the background.
Starting with a moment of silence that is broken by the sounds of Sam Wilson saying, “Captain, (it’s) Sam, can you hear me?”, we in the audience all knew we were in for a serious treat.
As the first portal opens up and Black Panther steps out with Okoye and Shuri in tow, deep cavernous drums sounded to mark the beginning of the tremendous Silvestri composed tour de force, “Portals.” Coupled with the onscreen images, this entire sequence was crazy satisfying to watch.
Brass then took the lead as the music steamed forward from a triumphant call to action to a moment of pure ecstasy as Captain America says “Avengers… Assemble.” Whatever you may think of the film or the MCU in general, it’s impossible to not be completely swept away by this scene and its music – it is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most satisfying finales in film history.
Tony Stark has sacrificed himself and sits mortally wounded as Pepper Potts tries to comfort him while holding back tears. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house as this scene played to the sombre but hopeful strains of Silvestri’s “The Real Hero.” Stark then dies to a pre-recorded monologue of him saying that “everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way.” It is then that a moving montage chronicling all the friendships and love between the many characters of THE AVENGERS was projected on screen.
The concert finally came to an end with a final montage that spotlighted each of the main characters as Silvestri’s triumphant “Main on End” played. This included a final and definitive performance of “The Avengers” theme to cap off an incredible afternoon with the orchestra and the Infinity Saga.
For reasons unknown, there was no encore.
Considering the fact that Michael Giacchino’s theme for THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS was the encore at last year’s “Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience” world premiere at the Hollywood Bowl, we all thought it was a given.
What made this even more confusing is that there was a statue of “The Thing” in the concert hall lobby to promote the upcoming release of the film, so I thought surely they’re going to play that theme. But alas…
A different encore piece that would have had me jumping up and down like a madman is Brian Tyler’s “Can you dig it” from IRON MAN 3… maybe next time? 😊
PART 6: CONCERT MERCH & FLYER
A handful of merch was sold at the concert with a special stand selling select soundtracks on CD:
Concert flyers were also freely available at Disney-produced concerts in Tokyo in the months leading up to the event:
PART 7: OVER TO YOU
Did you also go to this concert? How did you like it?
And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.
