Trans-Siberian Orchestra, MTS Centre, Nov. 3. 2008

I would give them 5/5 for effort, but I found myself bored with their
Christmas-tinged classical music-hard rock. I was sitting front row,
right in the centre, so I could really feel the heat from the endless
flames that appeared in the second half of the show.

Guitarist
Al Pitrelli hobbled on stage and it was later revealed that he broke
his leg jumping off the stage earlier in the day. Still, even from a
sitting position, he was an absolute stunner on guitar, very precise
and fluid. If you read his bio, you''ll see that he's played with many
fine musicians and bands.

The first half of the show told a story, with a narrator speaking before each song. Truthfully, I tuned out when he spoke.

The
light show was spectacular, with a lighting rig that moved up and down,
and side to side, several times, and was often augmented with lasers.
There were several times when I had to momentarily close my eyes.

The second half featured songs, many with snippets of Christmas music, but without narration.

Singer
Jeff Scott Soto was one of several singers who was given a solo song to
perform. Soto is well-known as a former vocalist with Yngwie Malmsteen,
the Swedish neo-classical guitar virtuoso, as well as most recently, he
sang with Journey.

The doors opened about 6:40 and then seating
in the venue took place around 7:20. People were standing or wandering
the hallway, and after a while, things were a little too packed for
comfort. As it turned out, the band was held up at the border and
instead of arriving at 2 am, they made it to the MTS Centre for 12 noon.

At
one point, Al Pitrelli introduced the two pianists, one of who was his
wife, as described them with incredibly high praise. Unfortunately,
their solos failed to live up to Pitrelli's hype.

There are two
Trans-Siberian Orchestras who tour during the brief winter months. I'm
not I would see them again, but they put in a really good effort.

I would guess that 4500 people showed up.

It has been a very very long time since I've been to a classical music concert. It is not my cup of tea. But, I would probably enjoy a Christmas concert.

I would not call TSO "classical".

They play some classical pieces, with some powerful metal/rock mixed in.

If you've never had the pleasure of listening to TSO, I'd highly recommend one of their CDs.

I wasn't sitting front & centre...was on the 1st level up, about 1/2 way up. I could feel the heat from the flames of the pots bursting...so I can only imagine what Trini was feeling.

I can say I felt sorry for the front 10 rows, only because at times, the lights were shining directly into the audience there, and I'm sure the fans could not see anything at all. I could see many of them covering their eyes to block the light.

Aside from a couple of technical glitches, and an occasional missed note...I thought the show was spectacular. It was easy to tell the choreographers need to take some more classes though. While trying to prove "dramatic", many of the singers/dancers appeared stiff and even ridiculous. At one point, the 4 female singers presented a phenomenal vocal presentation, and then stepped back for the musical interlude...and presented about 20 "hair flips". I was getting a stiff neck watching them flip back and forth. .

My wife and I had also brought our 3-year-old daughter with us. Unfortunately I had not thought of bringing ear plugs/muffs with me, and she definitely should have had them. Fortunately she recognized it, and for several of the louder songs, sat with her fingers in her ears.

The light show and especially the snow falling down over the audience kept her attention pretty well, though it was difficult to hold her interest during the narrator's poems, and especially when a character bum appeared on stage to present a 15-minute story/song.

The only complaint I heard from my wife, was (being Ukranian) she wanted to hear some "Russian" music...of which there was none.

Overall it was a very impressive show, and I might go again in a few years if given the opportunity. I think though presenting the Christmas show this early in the year was probably lost on the audience. They would probably have received a better ovation and reception had they arrived December 3rd instead.