Trans-Siberian Orchestra!!
We went to see TSO for the 3rd year in a row in Greenville this past weekend. We were 6th row, center and once again, it was fabulous. The first half was mostly the same, but since they have a new CD out this year, the second half had some new songs, which was exciting. Also, the lighting seems to get more impressive every year. There seemed to be more lights set up and more effects. The only people changes I noticed this year were 1) Roddy Chong has either gone solo and doesn’t tour with TSO anymore (I’d hear this earlier this year, but I’m not sure because he’s still on the website) or he’s gone over to West and 2) One of last year’s singers (I unfortunately don’t remember his name) was replaced by Rob Evan (who, by Chris Caffery’s intro, seemed to be back from being gone). Apart from the pretty cool violin duel last year, I don’t think the changes made too much of a difference.
The one definitely positive development was that Johnny Lee Middleton, the bassist who I complained about last year, was much more entertaining this year. Maybe he just had a bad day last year. He seemed more into it this year. So…no longer a complaint in my book. 
Also! Since we went to the later show this year, we got to stick around for the meet and greet! Yay! It seemed a bit rushed this year, which was unfortunate because I get flustered when I’m rushed. I wanted to be able to tell at least some of them I enjoyed the show and that we were repeat visitors, but I only managed to blurt it out once or twice. But some people stuck out in my mind as really trying to be personable, which I really appreciated – the drummer Jeff Plate, Johnny Lee Middleton, one of the singers James Lewis, and the violinist Anna Phoebe (who asked me a few questions!). Chris also spoke to Alexa Goddard, one of the singers, and Chris Caffery. Sadly, Alex Skolnick, who I was most looking forward to talking to, seemed distracted, but did respond when I told him I enjoyed the show. Plus, I remember him being nice the first year we went, asking me questions, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Overall, though, it was really cool to see them all up close and even just say hi. And I got a few more guitar picks to add to my TSO pick collection! 
Here’s some pictures from the Greenville concert (sorry for the blurriness. I gave up trying to get decent pictures halfway through. I don’t know what the problem was – the pictures were much better last year. I think I need a new camera. A DSLR! Hint, hint. ):
The Stage
Johnny Lee Middleton
Chris Caffery
Anna Phoebe
Alex Skolnick and Chris Caffery
Anna Phoebe and Chris Caffery
James Lewis
Steve Broderick and Alex Skolnick
Jodi Katz
Signed TSO program
Assorted TSO stuff - Promotional cards, 1 signed ticket, 1 blank ticket, 3 guitar picks (gray=Chris Caffery, purple=Alex Skolnick, yellow=Johnny Lee Middleton (even though he doesn't use a pick))
And here’s a video (which actually came out decent):
So, we had a really good time and I can’t wait to see TSO West in December!! It’ll be exciting to see the different group (and Chris Altenhoff!! Squee!).
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Wow. We had an AMAZING time at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. This was our second year going to see them. Last year, we sat up in the nosebleed seats and thought it was amazing, but this year we managed to get 5th row center through the pre-sale for their fan club members and…just wow. We were so close to the stage. Honestly, I felt like they were playing just to me, which is an awesome thing to feel in such a big venue. They really did an amazing job. The music was great again and the performance had so much energy. There was no meet and greet for the 3 pm show since there was another show only an hour after ours ended, which was kind of a bummer after meeting them last year, but we were so close during the show it really doesn’t matter (I did kind of want more guitar picks for my collection though – I got 3 last year! They threw some at the end of the show this year and apparently one almost hit me, but the cow next to me got it. Ahem…did I say cow? I mean lovely older woman).
There weren’t too many changes from last year in terms of songs played, but I certainly don’t mind! I come for the music I like and I liked what they played! There were a few changes made to the band – swaps between the 2 sub-bands. I didn’t know until about a week ago that the band split into 2 (TSO East and West) years ago, I believe in order to play more shows. Most of the changes I didn’t really feel had any impact on the show at all (female singers, new keyboard girl), but I thought the swap in violinists (stringmaster) was pretty good. We had a guy last year, Mark Wood, who I don’t seem to remember very well, but it was hard not to notice the girl this year, Anna Phoebe. She was really energetic and interacted with everyone. Our friends got the impression that she was a bit of an attention stealer, but I didn’t really mind. The only change I felt was negative was the bassist. We got Johnny Lee Middleton this year, who is the original bassist of the band, the one who recorded the albums, so musically he wasn’t bad (though I didn’t think any better either). It’s just that he completely blended into the background. I read that he sometimes looks a bit bored when he plays, and he does. He finally seemed to get into it a bit during the second half of the show, when they were playing less Christmas music. West can have Middleton back. Bring back Chris Altenhoff next year!! He was so much fun to watch – he had lots of energy and was a better performer for it – that’s kinda the point of a live show, right? But overall, the show was great!
And now some pictures:
Violin face-off between Anna Phoebe and Roddy Chong (at one point, they were throwing their bows back and forth!)
Johnny Lee Middleton, Chris Caffery, Anna Phoebe, Alex Skolnick, Roddy Chong (and also the head seen in half my shots)
Some of the singers and Chris Caffery
Steve Broderick dressed as a bum for Old City Bar during the "story" half of the show
Johnny Lee Middleton - yawn...
Chris Caffery, Anna Phoebe, Alex Skolnick
Guitarists on the little outcropping at the front of the stage - do you see how close we are??
Go here for my flickr set of a bunch more shots if you’re interested! (EDITED 7/25/09 – broken link should be fixed, please let me know if it isn’t working)
Woot!
Woot, we just got our tickets for Trans-Siberian Orchestra through the fan site! 5th row!!! Yay! I can’t wait till November!
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Ok, I can’t figure out how to get a song on here, so go here if you want to hear full length songs of Trans-Siberian Orchestra!
