Trans Siberian Orchestra Concert Review
Last Friday night, my wife and I attended the Trans Siberian Orchestra Show at U.S. Bank arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
This is the first TSO show that I have gone to, and I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I was well aware of TSO’s ties to the metal band, Savatage before I went to this show, but was not expecting this to be a hard rock show by any means.
In essence, this was like a hard rock show in disguise. It was definitely a Christmas themed show, but it was much, much more than that. This wasn’t an orchestra rehashing the same old Christmas songs that have you listened to 1000 times over the years.
The first half of the show, had a Narrator telling a Christmas story, in between songs. This kind of bored, my wife and I, and I could have done without this portion of the show. Aside from this distraction, the show was pretty amazing. The songs and arrangement played throughout this show, were a unique blend of classical and metal music. It was Christmas songs, redone in a fashion, that only Trans Siberian Orchestra could perform.
The show itself had it all. One of the best light shows I have ever seen live. Tons of pyro, lasers and more.
The stage was lit up in a way that I have not seen before.
Although TSO has many members, a few musicians stole the show. Guitarist (Savatage) Chris Caffery and (ex-Testament) Alex Skolnick were on fire all night. Mark Wood and his flying V, violin was a pleasure to watch as well.
This show had plenty of surprises in store for the concert goers, including a keyboard duel, a second stage in the audience and more.
If you get the chance to experience TSO live, do so. You won’t be disappointed. It is a unique live show that you can’t experience anywhere else. This show was a nice way to close out the great year of live music that 2007 brought to my area.
I was able to take one video at the show (before my camera self destructed), which was the first song of the night, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing. Check it out below!
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man what a great show. i could do without the narration and the non-traditional slower songs. didn’t care for the bum song. other than those, amazing show! the lights, solos, stage presence, working of the crowd…these guys really know how to put on a show. lots of energy! 9 out of 10.
I couldn’t agree more with bob_vinyl. These guys were horrible and for $60 a ticket? What a rip off! I left before the show was over.
I really haven’t heard any real reasons why ppl like or dislike this group. I’m only pointing that out because of the hostility. It probably isn’t fair to hold TSO to the “certain” formula that is rock or metal or what have you, that is, if there is a formula anyway or at least one that you could point out, specifically. I don’t think this is a good standard to be judged against. Why can’t we say their genre is xyzabc? They are in the very least bold for their attempts which can be respected. Their talent cannot be doubted and it probably “sounds good” even if you don’t want to admit and/or are a critic. That’s good enough for a B review right?
I saw them last night in Wilkes Barre, PA. I was disappointed. I thought they looked kind of ragged. They need different costumes for one. The guys all looked old with long stringy dry hair. The girls had extensions. All threw their hair around like it was a hair commercial – they did this through the whole show.
There was too much talking and too many slow songs – I felt I was going to fall asleep and was bored. The slow songs were LONG too – zzzzzzz.
The lights were great of course.
The guitars were too loud and overtook the violins and strings.
Overall, a boring show, with aged guitar playing, egotistical guys who didn’t know how to balance the sounds. Husband felt the same. Two thumbs down
Hey Micheal,
Shouldn’t you be tracking down the rest of those Scylla cards?
This is simply terrible !
I’ll drink to that! Cheers.
B&Q, you’re right. Rock is rock. And TSO is no… oh, nevermind.
Marcelo, if there were a bar on this crazy web where I could buy you a pint, I’d do so. Instead, I’ll leave you with this.
🙂
If you checked the whole discussion, I think is safe to say that it was fun and everybody involved enjoyed themselves. I for one did. I rarely post in blogs anywhere, but this got me started, so, credits to Chuck, Bob and Rob to ignite it. The box is open now..
Ya know…one of the biggest reasons that we hang out here, as opposed to places like sleazerox, is because there is very little mud slinging, finger pointing and insults.
TSO has brought out some VERY heated opinions…..but c’mon folks…..ROCK IS ROCK
Let’s all be friends and just enjoy the HRH ride!