Post by Gordon on the road on Dec 24, 2007 15:06:44 GMT -6
Hi All
Merry Christmas again
On the road in Williamsburg VA, visiting our daughter for the holiday. During the trip done here Ann seemed EXTREMELY nervous about making plane connections and arriving on time. It was a bit annoying, but once we were airborne on the last leg of our journey I found out why. One of my Christmas presents was a set of concert tickets to see the TransSiberian Orchestra concert at the Richmond Colsseum that evening. It was a tight timeline but we made it for the 8pm showing
Let me say HOLY FUCKING COW!!! WHAT A SHOW.
If you are not familiar with TSO, there specialize in what must be called "Rock Opera", and the have made a particular name for themselves with their Christmas stories with 3 CD's of the past decade or so.
I was familiar with their work, and have enjoyed it for the past several years, but this concert the other evening was beyond ANYTHING I had experienced in the past.
ALL of the on stage special effects were top of the line with massive lighting effect, pyrotechnics, and laser displays (the later using flouresent stage fog that changed the laser colors as the light passed through it.
On stage were 2 keyboards, 4 guitarists, a drummer, a 7 member string section and a 6 person chorus.
The 'opera' came primarily from their 'Lost Christmas' and 'Christmas Eve and other Stories' albums, narrated to form a very coherent story line. The signature 'hard rock' carols were interweaved with more acoustic pieces to bring something for everyone.
We were seated at the far end of the arena from the stage and were blasted two rows back by the first wave of sound at the start of the show. Arena floor seats were probably the worst place to be, unless you really get off on bleeding ears. While you really cannot see the performers from where we were, they were the best seats in the house for viewing the light display, and for my money THAT was the better show.
The opera lasted about an hour and a half, at which point I figured it was a couple encores and then out the door... WRONG! There was a very formal closing to the Christmas Opera, and then it was into a great cover of 'Proud Mary'. Great, but seemingly totally out of place at the time. Proud Mary was a transition piece, and then the TSO went into another hour of selections from their 'Beethovens Last Night' album (not on my wish list) including adaptations of themes from his 5th and 9th symphonies and the best cover of 'Mephistopheles' on the market.
All in all this was a 2 1/2 hour plus concert, and the ONLY place you might want to step out was during Proud Mary, for fear of missing something.
THIS IS A 10 out of 10, MUST SEE CONCERT. Their tour is winding up for this year, but if you get the chance in the future... SEE IT, our tickets were only $40, and that is for the best show around right now.
TSO Homepage Link
Merry Christmas again
On the road in Williamsburg VA, visiting our daughter for the holiday. During the trip done here Ann seemed EXTREMELY nervous about making plane connections and arriving on time. It was a bit annoying, but once we were airborne on the last leg of our journey I found out why. One of my Christmas presents was a set of concert tickets to see the TransSiberian Orchestra concert at the Richmond Colsseum that evening. It was a tight timeline but we made it for the 8pm showing
Let me say HOLY FUCKING COW!!! WHAT A SHOW.
If you are not familiar with TSO, there specialize in what must be called "Rock Opera", and the have made a particular name for themselves with their Christmas stories with 3 CD's of the past decade or so.
I was familiar with their work, and have enjoyed it for the past several years, but this concert the other evening was beyond ANYTHING I had experienced in the past.
ALL of the on stage special effects were top of the line with massive lighting effect, pyrotechnics, and laser displays (the later using flouresent stage fog that changed the laser colors as the light passed through it.
On stage were 2 keyboards, 4 guitarists, a drummer, a 7 member string section and a 6 person chorus.
The 'opera' came primarily from their 'Lost Christmas' and 'Christmas Eve and other Stories' albums, narrated to form a very coherent story line. The signature 'hard rock' carols were interweaved with more acoustic pieces to bring something for everyone.
We were seated at the far end of the arena from the stage and were blasted two rows back by the first wave of sound at the start of the show. Arena floor seats were probably the worst place to be, unless you really get off on bleeding ears. While you really cannot see the performers from where we were, they were the best seats in the house for viewing the light display, and for my money THAT was the better show.
The opera lasted about an hour and a half, at which point I figured it was a couple encores and then out the door... WRONG! There was a very formal closing to the Christmas Opera, and then it was into a great cover of 'Proud Mary'. Great, but seemingly totally out of place at the time. Proud Mary was a transition piece, and then the TSO went into another hour of selections from their 'Beethovens Last Night' album (not on my wish list) including adaptations of themes from his 5th and 9th symphonies and the best cover of 'Mephistopheles' on the market.
All in all this was a 2 1/2 hour plus concert, and the ONLY place you might want to step out was during Proud Mary, for fear of missing something.
THIS IS A 10 out of 10, MUST SEE CONCERT. Their tour is winding up for this year, but if you get the chance in the future... SEE IT, our tickets were only $40, and that is for the best show around right now.
TSO Homepage Link
