Tour Title: Christmas Eve and Other Stories 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Tour Title: Christmas Eve and Other Stories 2003
Rating: 5 Skulls |
Submitted by Famine (12/28/03, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT):
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the most metal thing about Christmas. If you are unfamiliar with the group, they are a hard rock / heavy metal hybrid infused with classical music and the spirit of Broadway. TSO is a wolf in sheep's clothing - a metal band in tuxedos. If you are familiar with latter day Savatage, then you are familiar with the sound of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I see TSO as an offshoot of Savatage - taking the sound that has evolved through the collaboration of Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill since Hall Of The Mountain King and tweaking it just slightly for a wider audience. The mainstream success of this project has allowed the theatrical vision to be fully realized with the use of an orchestra and multiple vocalists. The band has released two Christmas concept albums and the rock opera (for lack of a better term) Beethoven's Last Night. They have taken their show on the road for the last few years during the holiday season to men, women and children of all ages (some of whom come and leave never knowing that they are metal fans).I saw this year's show at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT - a great venue to be sure. It is a small arena just steps away from spinning slots, rolling dice and food and drink of every variety. After knocking back a few beers and losing some cash to the one-armed bandit, I entered the arena to find that it was a packed house. Good for TSO. As I scrambled to my seat, the band took the stage with high volume and power chords. The sound was stellar. It also quickly became apparent that they have pumped some money into the light show. There were racks upon racks of lights, as well as lasers and even artificial snowfall during the set. Savatage contributed guitarist Chris Caffery and drummer Jeff Plate to the touring lineup. It was soon apparent that Caffery was acting as the frontman for the show. He did a tremendous job as the energetic voice of TSO and made a metal brother feel at home.
The troupe played a conceptual set built around tracks from Christmas Eve And Other Stories and The Christmas Attic. They then performed some singular holiday pieces and tracks from Beethoven's Last Night. They closed out the night with a powerful rendition of "O Fortuna" from an instrumental album due soon. In addition, we were advised that a third Christmas album is under way that will complete the story begun on the first two.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra's performance was larger than life and every bit as magical as TSO intended. The light show recalled the glory days of metal when Ozzy, Dio and Maiden ruled the arenas. Perhaps it is sad that Oliva and O'Neill have been unable to bring this spectacle to life under the Savatage banner, but a band's gotta do what a band's gotta do. . . and that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. . .
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