By Robert Suski
Staff Writer
Christmas has come early for Northeast Pennsylvania as Trans-Siberian Orchestra has started their Winter Tour early this year and one of the first stops was the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre. I’ve been a fan of their renditions of Christmas and non-holiday themed music since I first heard Christmas Eve Sarajevo and I had the joy of being able to experience their music live in concert.
The concert itself was bro- ken down into two parts; the Christmas portion which went first and then followed by the non-Christmas portion. The Christmas portion was a collection of their various Christmas songs that was set to a narrated story about an angel coming down to earth on Christmas Eve looking for the spirit of the holiday. The narration was rather touching and it was apparent that songs were carefully chosen to go along with the story. I felt a chill as I recognized the story of Christmas Eve Sarajevo, about a man who found his homeland torn in war, went to the town fountain, took out a cello and began playing long forgotten Christmas music to both sides. Though not specifically known for using lyrics in their music, when they sang, they brought emotion to the music. Though it was early November they were able to truly bring the magic of Christmas to their holiday portion.
After their Christmas portion, they moved onto their non- holiday themed show, which included their renditions of classics from Mozart, Beethoven, and including new music from their upcoming new album Night Castle, which is supposed to be released this summer.
Before I go on I must state that I have been to previous concerts but mostly heavy metal shows and I can honestly say this show has beaten out other performances I’ve been to, including Type O Negative’s and Lordi’s concerts. There was fog, fire, lights and lasers and they didn’t were not stingy on the effects. I’d recommend that people who might suffer from epilepsy or bouts of seizures that unfortunately this might not be the show for you as the effects are at times unrelenting which amazes me at how the performers are able to perform with all the flashing lights and effects going on around them. In terms of music they chose classics from their so only non-Christmas themed album Beethoven’s Last Night along with portions from Night Castle, the most noted song from the new album being “O Fortuna.” I’ve seen videos of their version of “O Fortuna” and they do not do it the justice of seeing it live with all the fire and lights.
In truth, I feel that what I’ve written won’t be enough to do the show justice and I don’t think I can write enough to properly do it justice. It isn’t a show so much as an experience that needs to be experienced for one be able to truly judge for them- selves, but for me it was worth the price, was worth the drive and worth every inconvenience and it was an experience that I hope to continue when they tour in the area again next year.