Mere words cannot do Trans-Siberian Orchestra justice. If you ask a fan what it’s like, they’ll probably start out with “Oh my God!” and then tell you how great it is. All I can hope is my pictures did justice for this amazing show where my words more than likely will not.
This year they brought back The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, and even though I had seen this show last year, I was still super excited. I knew that TSO would bring the same level of showmanship they had in the previous years that I had seen them. The rest of the crowd agreed with me for when Bryan Hicks took the stage, he was greeted with so much cheering that he just looked and asked us all “What?” with a smile on his face.
The first half of the show was The Ghosts of Christmas Eve followed up by a second half that was a jam session of “The Best of TSO”. This included my favorite, The Mountain which is accompanied by footage of a dragon blowing fire and flying while pyro travels across the stage at certain points and blows up in puffs. See? I just can’t describe this stuff right! You must SEE it!
At various times, TSO made use of hydraulic platforms that rise out of the stage but did not use the ones that go over the crowd as in years past. This year they used a bridge like platform that came out over the front of the crowd with little mini screens on it. While it was an interesting difference, I feel it wasn’t as magical as seeing guitarist Chris Caffery or violinist Roddy Chong high above my head practically high enough to be in the face of the upper bowl of the arena.
That change did not make me disappointed in the show at all. It was only a passing thought as I was swept up into the beauty that is a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show. I left the arena that night wishing I had a time machine to re-live it all just as I had in the past. Alas, I have to wait till next year. Only 11 more months! Maybe I’ll be able to sit in the section that the snow falls on from the rafters!
