LIVE AT NJPAC
I’ve been trying to nail down an interview with this band that will hopefully take place soon. It was also down to the wire getting set up to go see this show. This was my first time to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). I’ve been to the Newark Bears stadium for games and the last
Opie Vs. Anthony Celebrity Softball game.
We found our way through the construction and to Will Call. The usual and sure enough they have all I needed. I open the envelope and we were in the front row baby, NICE! I had a camera and was planning on buying film in Newark but the immediate area had a Radio Shack that was closed before 8 PM and the PAC didn’t sell any.
We venture in and all we see are all sorts of refreshments. I had to grab a World Select. We went on to talking with the bartender who was beaming about TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (TSO). Little did this guy know that I am pre-TSO fan like in the SAVATAGE days… If only you people gave “Chance” a spin from that band and maybe you’d get it alittle. The music was playing as we watched the monitor and I slam my beer down. Away we went into the doors, then another set of doors into another set of doors. I was feeling like Alice in wonderland. We were escorted to our seats as I’m behind my friend freaking out about our awesome seats.
The band played its intro and the show went underway. First thing I see is some old faces and new faces playing with TSO. Tristian Avakian (THE TURTLES, RED DAWN, POOLS OF MERCURY) is the new guitar slinger along with Chris Caffery. I see that they had a new narrator Bryan Hicks (from
Law And Order and
The Sopranos). The usual star studded cast is here from previous years. The very beautiful backround singers are a vision and they have voices of angels. WOW that is pretty sappy for a site like this!
They run through the
Christmas Eve and Other Stories record,
The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve (DVD) and even whip out a new song with the three female singers. Even my friend said they never gave the title. As the night progresses they play portions of The Christmas Attic and feature some of Beethoven’s Last Night. Funny enough they said that they will be touring the music for that album starting in July 2005. As a side note they should have a new record in 2004. I hope!
The music is a rocking, jazzing, soulful, classical, metallic trip. The open minded will embrace it. I really want to fill you in on a few things. When I walked in I noticed the lighting rig and then as the night wore on we were bombed with dry ice. The Lasers were incredible! It was sick the way the lightshow went down. Not only that, they made it snow! Yup, SNOW! OK not snow, but SOAP! It gave a great effect of snow and when the lights and lasers hit the flakes they reflected all over the place. That was wild yet a bit hard on the others in the front row center. Speaking of that, we were so close to this stage that we were hearing more of the sound from the stage and not the PA. It gave me a different outlook of the rawer side of this band.
Steve Broderick also came out in a costume giving the effect of a lost soul (or lonely homeless person). They also explained that they were going to play a cover version of TSO doing the ELP version of “The Nutcracker Suite”, Holy S! That was pretty cool!
I must go back to the lights and the joke Chris Caffery came out with. He was taking blame for the East Coast blackout we had last year. We also got a drum solo out of Jeff Plate. More effects were the many flash pots of fire, fire!
Open your mind and find the Trans Siberian Orchestra! This is my third round seeing them and will be back again. So far I have brought four people to see them and they were amazed. My buddy at the end of the night even said that he wasn’t ready for that. He said it was cool and want to see them again. Spread the cheer and lighten up you DEEKS! It is an awesome spectacle for all ages.
