Wow! What a performance!

[Cave Diver]

I just returned from Houston where I went with my mother to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

WOW! What a show! The first hour was a spectacular narrative of their Christmas CD. The story started, then went to the music, then back to the narrative, then back to the music. Also included was a terrific laser and light show.

After the Christmas narrative, they mixed it up a little. A few jazz type songs, some stuff from their new Beethoven mix that was played for the first time tonight, and a few other new things they are working on.

After another hour of fantastic music, they did an encore performance of several more songs.

2 1/2 hours of fantastic entertainment that had a packed theater rocking the whole night.

Oh, and I almost forgot. The night started off with the producer of Clear Channel Radio (one of their sponsors) giving a check to the Marine Corps for $6000 for their annual Toys for Tots drive. The money was raised from the donation of $1 off of every ticket sold to the performance. Tickets to the show were $35 and I think would have been worth it at twice that price.

If anyone has an opportunity to see them perform in person, I highly recommend it!

 

[Jersey]

They played Phildelphia the first week of Dec, but I was on vacation. Maybe next year....

But I did get to see the Nutcracker ballet Friday night!

 

[Cave Diver]

Jersey once bubbled...
They played Phildelphia the first week of Dec, but I was on vacation. Maybe next year....

But I did get to see the Nutcracker ballet Friday night!

If you like their music then I strongly urge you not to miss a live performance. It has to rank as one of the best (if not THE Best) that I have ever seen.

 

[ckharlan66]

Thanks for the report. I would love to get a chance to see them. Their music is amazing.

Ya'll have a great Holiday.

Chad

 

[Natasha]

They were live on "Good Morning America" yesterday. They were FANTASTIC! I felt so lucky to have caught it.
I hope to see them in concert someday.

 

[Cave Diver]

ckharlan66 once bubbled...
I would love to get a chance to see them. Their music is amazing.

Natasha once bubbled...
I hope to see them in concert someday.

If you ever get the chance... DO IT!

 

[ScubaTexan]

I picked up their two Christmas CDs at Virgin Megastore the other night, and I have been really impressed. While I think I still prefer Mannheim Steamroller slightly, TSO really rocks in a very similar way. I wouldn't mind seeing them in concert.

 

[Natasha]

I just bought tickets to see Trans Siberian this year. They are @ the new Toyota Center here. I can't wait!
I'm taking my teens, I think they will like it too.



http://www.atlantic-records.com/transsiberianorchestra/frameset520354_18_16.html

 

[Sham_ba_la]

For those in Dallas their scheduled to play at Nextstage in Grand Prairie. Almost went last year, but the person I was going to go with cancelled on me just before getting the tickets and this year, that's another story. Guess I'll have to wait still another year.. ;-0

 

[jonnythan]

Note: I feel compelled to speak whenever the subjet is TSO.

Savatage is my favorite band. By far. They've been around since the early 80's consistently producing some of the most ambitious progressive rock and concept albums around. I honestly can't believe they've never made it big, but that's another story.

In 1995 they released a concept album called Dead Winter Dead. The record was a fairly neat story surrounding the Bosnian war. The climax of the album occurred in the last few songs, centered around Christmas Eve. Track 12, Christmas Eve Sarajevo, was an instrumental piece based on Carol of the Bells written to recreate a scene in the story - a lone cello player strumming in an abandoned square under heavy mortar fire. The two main characters of the story come together on this night to hear this cello player, who dies in the conflict. His death brings them - a Muslim and a Serb - together that night.

Anyway, that one song turned out to be the only Savatage song ever to make it to the radio. No one ever knew it was even Savatage. Jon Oliva (songwriter/founder/vocalist/pianist) and Paul O'Neil (producer), the heart of the band, realized what they had. So, they went and wrote an entire album of similar music - hard rock mixed with powerful classical music with a little Broadway thrown in. The result was The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Oliva and O'Neil kept the song Christmas Eve and made it a TSO song instead of a Savatage song.

TSO tours annually around the holidays. They break into two touring companies. Each company takes a couple of members from the band Savatage, a couple of hired musicians, and small orchestral sets and hits the stage. The concerts are sometimes amusing because there are often mostly normal looking people and families, with a few metalheads wearing Savatage shirts thrown in. This is awesome because the band Savatage keeps getting to do its thing without worrying about making money - TSO has made them rich enough.

The big point of all this is that if you like what The Trans-Siberian Orchestra does, I highly recommend you check out some of Savatage's albums, especially Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan. Every one of their albums and songs is consistently high quality. A fair portion of it is a bit heavier than TSO's music, but it's all written and performed by the same people.