Trans Siberian Orchestra 2009
When I shared with Dad that Greg has mentioned in the past how much he'd like to go to the Trans Siberian Orchestra performance, Dad booked 6 seats, Section A (right in front, floor seats), row four and in the middle. The tickets cost 200 each and arrived about a week before the show date. I did read that TSO has two different performances, one called Nightcastle, which is more of a sci-fi story line about a girl and a castle and the other performance was for Christmas. We assumed it was the Christmas performance, because well, it was right before Christmas.
The tickets arrived and the day of the performance, the "Grimballs" had 3 doctor appointments. Dad had an inner ear infection, where he was given a shot and medicine. Roda had a torn inner ear drum and couldn't hear out of her ear. The doctor said it was the worst case he had seen all day and she was given drops to put in her ears. She said, "Welcome to the world of Aleta and Dad." ohhh, that made me sad for her. And me, I had an appointment with the ear doc too, for a hearing aid fitting! (Now when I think of the song, "All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth" I change it to "All I want for Christmas are my hearing aids." Hehe. Gift from Mom and Dad- THANK YOU! I should have it in time for Christmas or soon after.)
The sad thing though... is that Dad and Roda couldn't go to the performance. If they didn't go, Mom and Rob didn't want to either. But we weren't certain who was coming and who wasn't until after the doctor's appointments, so Greg was going back and forth to see who else could use the tickets. Fortunately, Danny was in town and another couple with their daughter wanted tickets as well, so all 6 were put to good use. Danny was with Greg during all the "who's coming to see TSO with us" and had Greg laughing as Greg tried to make sure people were informed that it "was not a Christmas performance." (Because the tickets had the Nightcastle on it) When we picked Danny up, he even had a cut with him that he hand wrote on it, "This is Not Christmas."
We arrived at the arena to a long line outside, in the rain and in the cold. Danny cut to the front and the man said, "You don't get in front of me." Danny joked with him and said, "Ok, I'll get behind you." The lady behind the man said, "But you'll be in front of ME!" Danny said, "How about I buy you a drink." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we avoided a mess of rain!
We got inside, given an orange wristband for the floor section and Wowza - fourth row from the stage, really impressive. This was our first TSO concert and we didn't know what to expect. The couple in the seat next to me said that they have been every year and love it. They warned us that their little girl would most likely get up and start dancing in the aisle. The people behind us, senior citizens, were ecstatic to be there! They were huge fans and were excited to see our reaction, being it was our first time. There was some confusion, because nobody knew if it was going to be the Nightcastle music (which our tickets looked like it) or Christmas. Danny again had us in stitches about this.
Before the performance began, one of the guys from a local radio station introduced a representative from Second Harvest. She explained that for each ticket purchased, one dollar was donated to Second Harvest. Two band members were there to present a check to Second Harvest for 11,000! I was really happy to see this; it set the "mood" in the right place. Then... the lighting system, which covered the stage, began to glow and lift up...
Oh my gosh, what to say about the experience ~ we were overwhelmed by music and visual aspects! It wasn't just music, but a story as well. There was a narrator who would give a poetic rendition of Christmas story between the songs. The music dimmed down and a soft light focused on the narrator. He delivered the story with a musical lilt. It was intensely dramatic, that kind of voice that takes a word and lifts it to a higher meaning.
(I have to interrupt and say that at this point, I looked over at Danny. He had tears in his eyes and he would bust out laughing with each Christmas song. He told Greg, "You're going to have to apologize to a lot of people and tell them that it WAS about Christmas!")
The audience was enchanted with the story of how an angel was sent to Earth.. how the angel was there to save the soul of a bartender. The bartender ended up helping a lost teenage girl get back home in time for Christmas, her father rejoiced! Then the angel went back to God and told Him about what happened. The narrator would tell part of the story and fade into the background, then the "very, very talented" (Greg's quote) musicians played ~ sometimes only with rock and roll music and sometimes with singers involved. It was heavy metal, rock and roll, classic - all supercharged by a laser light show with moving multi-tiered light sets and flames (which changed colors from red to green). From start to finish, dry ice billowed from the stage, giving the band an otherworldly appearance. It was Rock Theater at its best and everyone loved it!
The stories weren't just given a narration and music explosion, the performance took it one step further... the narrator would say certain things and it happened. When he spoke of the stars in the night, darkness filled the arena and the backdrop to the stage lit up in hundreds of small white lights. The audience filled with "oohs" and "aahhs." Later the narrator told how the teenager was outside on a snowy day, then lifted his arms, saying, "much like it is snowing now.." and oh WOW! There was a snow machine in the ceiling pouring out the white flakes! Magic, pure and simple magic!
About two hours into the show, we were introduced to the band members (some were from New Orleans) from the strings, guitars, flute players, pianist, singers. One band member used to sing for Journey and he said, "Geaux Saints!" The audience rocked back with shouts and cheers. You could see his smile and somewhat of a shocked look on his face. I'm sure he thought we'd respond well, but yeah, we're Saints Fans! The guy doing the introductions said, "It's a Thursday night, school day, raining outside, but you're a rowdy crowd!" I think they appreciated the audience, which was nice.
The harmony of lights, music, flames and drama continued. There were three parts of the stage that actually raised up on a platform for the orchestra.. and a fourth stage behind the floor audience that floated up high! You felt the energy bounce between the two stages and throughout the audience. I thought it was great to see young children dancing (though Greg made mention that it was mostly young girls). I thought it was adorable how the girls tried to windmill toss their hair like the band members did! I was waiting for the guitar's hair to get stuck in the strings while doing all that tossing! It was an art along with the sounds. But it wasn't just the young who thoroughly enjoyed the show.... the senior citizens behind us were screaming louder than the rest! They wanted the song, "I Believe" and yelled for it. They knew the band members' names and cheer them on individually. They shouted the words along with the singers. Energy, I tell you! If they could have bottled that energy up, it would power the world!
One of my favorite parts was when a homeless guy came on stage. Obviously he was part of the show, but oh my gosh, he did... a beautiful job. He continued with the narration of the story, but started it off with some laughs... like yelling "Free Bird!!" to one of the guitarist. He looked and acted like a homeless guy, holding a bottle in his hand while singing of the Christmas plight... his vocal range was awesome. He brought home the true meaning of the holiday. I heard someone say, "He represents the angel referred to throughout the show." Certainly, his voice was worthy and he sang about the good of people, that we are there for one another.
Who would have thought that a Christmas show could be "rock opera!" You had to be in the mood and if you were, then you would get caught up in the sights, the sounds and the ~ Energy~, not just of the band, but of the audience. It was intense, there was talent, so close to the stage.. the combination of it was .... well... by the end, it was down right exhausting and thoroughly enjoyed!
What Greg and I liked the most.... beyond all that I've mentioned.... it was how the Trans Siberian Orchestra brought religion and Christ and giving and being a good person back into Christmas. That you give and you get a life, to care about one another... it put it back into perspective instead of the rush and hurried commercial thing. Truly a wonderful experience!
Of course, it wouldn't be a night out with Danny and Greg if it didn't end up with the two guys talking about how much they had to pee and needed to get out of traffic. Danny said, "You don't have seat warmers back here, but it's about to feel that way!" I cracked up laughing! Lucky for them (and Greg's vehicle), Danny's condo was close to the arena. Going into the building and up the elevator to Danny's condo, the guys started barking out a Christmas song. I groaned. Danny said, "Don't comment... otherwise we'll break into the Hippo song!" Inside the condo, they started dancing around the room and sang the Hippo Christmas song, even adding in their own air guitar rendition, compliments of the TSO. Freakin' hilarious!
We didn't get home until midnight. The next morning, Greg told me, "Last night, you looked like the pictures I've seen of you when you were a little girl." I asked him what he meant. He said, "During the performance, a couple of times you turned to me and smiled. You looked so happy!" I guess that's how I felt. I let the music and lights take me away. I'm so glad that we went. (Just a little sad my parents and R&R didn't go... but Greg and I both agree ~ we don't think our parents could have handled the show too long, because of the bright lights would have hurt Mom's eyes and neither of our parents would have liked the loud rock music.) Thank you so much, Mom and Dad for the tickets! It was a great experience and all the tickets went to good use with people really enjoying the performance!!!
To see more pictures, click here for my Picasa site.
The tickets arrived and the day of the performance, the "Grimballs" had 3 doctor appointments. Dad had an inner ear infection, where he was given a shot and medicine. Roda had a torn inner ear drum and couldn't hear out of her ear. The doctor said it was the worst case he had seen all day and she was given drops to put in her ears. She said, "Welcome to the world of Aleta and Dad." ohhh, that made me sad for her. And me, I had an appointment with the ear doc too, for a hearing aid fitting! (Now when I think of the song, "All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth" I change it to "All I want for Christmas are my hearing aids." Hehe. Gift from Mom and Dad- THANK YOU! I should have it in time for Christmas or soon after.)
The sad thing though... is that Dad and Roda couldn't go to the performance. If they didn't go, Mom and Rob didn't want to either. But we weren't certain who was coming and who wasn't until after the doctor's appointments, so Greg was going back and forth to see who else could use the tickets. Fortunately, Danny was in town and another couple with their daughter wanted tickets as well, so all 6 were put to good use. Danny was with Greg during all the "who's coming to see TSO with us" and had Greg laughing as Greg tried to make sure people were informed that it "was not a Christmas performance." (Because the tickets had the Nightcastle on it) When we picked Danny up, he even had a cut with him that he hand wrote on it, "This is Not Christmas."
We arrived at the arena to a long line outside, in the rain and in the cold. Danny cut to the front and the man said, "You don't get in front of me." Danny joked with him and said, "Ok, I'll get behind you." The lady behind the man said, "But you'll be in front of ME!" Danny said, "How about I buy you a drink." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we avoided a mess of rain!
We got inside, given an orange wristband for the floor section and Wowza - fourth row from the stage, really impressive. This was our first TSO concert and we didn't know what to expect. The couple in the seat next to me said that they have been every year and love it. They warned us that their little girl would most likely get up and start dancing in the aisle. The people behind us, senior citizens, were ecstatic to be there! They were huge fans and were excited to see our reaction, being it was our first time. There was some confusion, because nobody knew if it was going to be the Nightcastle music (which our tickets looked like it) or Christmas. Danny again had us in stitches about this.
Before the performance began, one of the guys from a local radio station introduced a representative from Second Harvest. She explained that for each ticket purchased, one dollar was donated to Second Harvest. Two band members were there to present a check to Second Harvest for 11,000! I was really happy to see this; it set the "mood" in the right place. Then... the lighting system, which covered the stage, began to glow and lift up...
Oh my gosh, what to say about the experience ~ we were overwhelmed by music and visual aspects! It wasn't just music, but a story as well. There was a narrator who would give a poetic rendition of Christmas story between the songs. The music dimmed down and a soft light focused on the narrator. He delivered the story with a musical lilt. It was intensely dramatic, that kind of voice that takes a word and lifts it to a higher meaning.
(I have to interrupt and say that at this point, I looked over at Danny. He had tears in his eyes and he would bust out laughing with each Christmas song. He told Greg, "You're going to have to apologize to a lot of people and tell them that it WAS about Christmas!")
The audience was enchanted with the story of how an angel was sent to Earth.. how the angel was there to save the soul of a bartender. The bartender ended up helping a lost teenage girl get back home in time for Christmas, her father rejoiced! Then the angel went back to God and told Him about what happened. The narrator would tell part of the story and fade into the background, then the "very, very talented" (Greg's quote) musicians played ~ sometimes only with rock and roll music and sometimes with singers involved. It was heavy metal, rock and roll, classic - all supercharged by a laser light show with moving multi-tiered light sets and flames (which changed colors from red to green). From start to finish, dry ice billowed from the stage, giving the band an otherworldly appearance. It was Rock Theater at its best and everyone loved it!
The stories weren't just given a narration and music explosion, the performance took it one step further... the narrator would say certain things and it happened. When he spoke of the stars in the night, darkness filled the arena and the backdrop to the stage lit up in hundreds of small white lights. The audience filled with "oohs" and "aahhs." Later the narrator told how the teenager was outside on a snowy day, then lifted his arms, saying, "much like it is snowing now.." and oh WOW! There was a snow machine in the ceiling pouring out the white flakes! Magic, pure and simple magic!
About two hours into the show, we were introduced to the band members (some were from New Orleans) from the strings, guitars, flute players, pianist, singers. One band member used to sing for Journey and he said, "Geaux Saints!" The audience rocked back with shouts and cheers. You could see his smile and somewhat of a shocked look on his face. I'm sure he thought we'd respond well, but yeah, we're Saints Fans! The guy doing the introductions said, "It's a Thursday night, school day, raining outside, but you're a rowdy crowd!" I think they appreciated the audience, which was nice.
The harmony of lights, music, flames and drama continued. There were three parts of the stage that actually raised up on a platform for the orchestra.. and a fourth stage behind the floor audience that floated up high! You felt the energy bounce between the two stages and throughout the audience. I thought it was great to see young children dancing (though Greg made mention that it was mostly young girls). I thought it was adorable how the girls tried to windmill toss their hair like the band members did! I was waiting for the guitar's hair to get stuck in the strings while doing all that tossing! It was an art along with the sounds. But it wasn't just the young who thoroughly enjoyed the show.... the senior citizens behind us were screaming louder than the rest! They wanted the song, "I Believe" and yelled for it. They knew the band members' names and cheer them on individually. They shouted the words along with the singers. Energy, I tell you! If they could have bottled that energy up, it would power the world!
One of my favorite parts was when a homeless guy came on stage. Obviously he was part of the show, but oh my gosh, he did... a beautiful job. He continued with the narration of the story, but started it off with some laughs... like yelling "Free Bird!!" to one of the guitarist. He looked and acted like a homeless guy, holding a bottle in his hand while singing of the Christmas plight... his vocal range was awesome. He brought home the true meaning of the holiday. I heard someone say, "He represents the angel referred to throughout the show." Certainly, his voice was worthy and he sang about the good of people, that we are there for one another.
Who would have thought that a Christmas show could be "rock opera!" You had to be in the mood and if you were, then you would get caught up in the sights, the sounds and the ~ Energy~, not just of the band, but of the audience. It was intense, there was talent, so close to the stage.. the combination of it was .... well... by the end, it was down right exhausting and thoroughly enjoyed!
What Greg and I liked the most.... beyond all that I've mentioned.... it was how the Trans Siberian Orchestra brought religion and Christ and giving and being a good person back into Christmas. That you give and you get a life, to care about one another... it put it back into perspective instead of the rush and hurried commercial thing. Truly a wonderful experience!
Of course, it wouldn't be a night out with Danny and Greg if it didn't end up with the two guys talking about how much they had to pee and needed to get out of traffic. Danny said, "You don't have seat warmers back here, but it's about to feel that way!" I cracked up laughing! Lucky for them (and Greg's vehicle), Danny's condo was close to the arena. Going into the building and up the elevator to Danny's condo, the guys started barking out a Christmas song. I groaned. Danny said, "Don't comment... otherwise we'll break into the Hippo song!" Inside the condo, they started dancing around the room and sang the Hippo Christmas song, even adding in their own air guitar rendition, compliments of the TSO. Freakin' hilarious!
We didn't get home until midnight. The next morning, Greg told me, "Last night, you looked like the pictures I've seen of you when you were a little girl." I asked him what he meant. He said, "During the performance, a couple of times you turned to me and smiled. You looked so happy!" I guess that's how I felt. I let the music and lights take me away. I'm so glad that we went. (Just a little sad my parents and R&R didn't go... but Greg and I both agree ~ we don't think our parents could have handled the show too long, because of the bright lights would have hurt Mom's eyes and neither of our parents would have liked the loud rock music.) Thank you so much, Mom and Dad for the tickets! It was a great experience and all the tickets went to good use with people really enjoying the performance!!!
To see more pictures, click here for my Picasa site.
Comments
I told her let's skip this year (didn't want to spend the moola) and we will definitely go again next year. My parents which are 70 love them too and have been to see them before.
Have a great weekend.