Trans-Siberian Orchestra
December 7th, 2002 at the Mercer Arts Arena, Seattle WA

For me and a lot of other folks the holiday season is a stressful time with too much money to spend, lots of people making a big deal about a holiday they really don’t believe in, and blatant commercialism everywhere you look. Other than spending time with my family and loved ones the only good thing about this time of year is that Trans-Siberian Orchestra is guaranteed to do a concert. This year the event took place at the Mercer Arts Arena, an old hockey arena converted to a venue for opera and ballet.

Shortly after 8 PM the house lights dimmed and the band made their way onto the stage dressed in tuxedos and white shirts. Al Pitrelli took stage left on lead guitar with two keyboardists behind him and the bassist and second guitarist took stage right. Behind them was a string section comprised of violins and cellos. The drummer took the rear center spot as expected. The backdrop was a mass of blue lights which gave me the impression of being outside on a clear winter night.

They opened with O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night, an instrumental mixture of themes from both classic Xmas songs done up with some fantastic electric riffing on top of the layers of strings and keyboards. Between songs, a narrator told a story of a legend that took place on Christmas Eve. His verses were recited with such feeling and conviction that I was convinced his tears at the end of the story were real. Several people took turns handling the vocal duties throughout the show to tell the story which was comprised of the majority of the "Christmas Eve and Other Stories" album. Once the Christmas Eve story was done, Tommy Farese took the role of front man and introduced the band. They then went on to play a few songs from "Beethovens Last Night" and "The Christmas Attic", and a great jam built out of a bunch of bluesy jazzy riffing, keyboard duels, some of the best scat vocals I’ve ever heard and a bit from Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. Awesome stuff all right.

They then introduced a couple of new songs, saying that the audience reaction would decide if they were going to record them or not. First was an incredibly heavy version of Carl Orff's “Carmina Burana”. Many bands have used that for intro music but TSO did it up right, complete with live vocals and all instrumentation performed rather than pre-recorded. Next was a new version of the Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite” that was somewhat reminiscent of Emerson Lake and Palmers “Nutrocker”. It featured a lot of great keyboard dueling and some interesting riffage. Needless to say audience reaction to the two tracks was great. The concert was concluded by "Requiem (The Fifth)", a heavy interpretation of Beethoven's 5th Symphony and a reprise of “Christmas Eve Saravejo”.

I found it hard to believe but this year’s show was even more impressive than last years, probably due to a better light show and the two new songs I mentioned earlier. If you are going to only see one Christmas concert this is THE one to see. They tour every year so make sure not to miss it. Take your friends, family, and relatives as there is something there for each and every one of them. Just make sure to buy your tickets as soon as they go on sale as they will sell out quickly. This has become a holiday tradition for me and a number of friends; check it out for yourself and see what it’s all about.

Photos from this show can be found in our Photo Gallery
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Rating: 10 /10