Christmas Music

A few weeks ago, I had the very distinct pleasure of attending a concert by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Suffice it to say that I had a great time and enjoyed it tremendously - and that was in spite of the poor seats that we had which placed up in the rafters directly the right side of the front of the stage which meant that we couldn't see some of the lighting conducted from the very front. But, in the end, that did not really matter a great deal.

Now, I should caveat that I am a big fan of TSO and it is about the only Christmas music that I can bear to listen to for more than an hour or so. Their eclectic sound is a mixture of heavy metal with a Christmas theme and clearly has a devoted following as the theatre was jammed with fans. It is clearly a genre all its own, too, as those fans ranged from families with kids (such as mine) to older couples to young headbangers (including a young couple who sat in front of us and whose head-banging motions during the concert were almost as entertaining as the concert itself). Their most famous song, Christmas in Sarajevo, was the denouement of the evening and a fitting climax to a terrific show.

The show began with lights and fire and did not let up from there. The guitarists and violinist kicked things off with some hard-rocking licks which then led up to the beginning of the story of the Lost Christmas Eve (the name of one of their albums). The story was compelling and the intersection of the story with the music was unlike any concert I had ever heard - though it should be noted this was only my 4th concert ever attended. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and one that should be experienced at least once. In my case, I think we'll be attending again in another year or two so that would make it at least twice.

I may not post another low-level review after the next one, though. Unless I remember to write it within a few hours of actually seeing the concert...