Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO)

TSO is one of Gerry's favorite groups and has been trying to attend one of their concerts for years.  It seems that we were always on the wrong side of the US when their tour came through an area.  This year she lucked out and they are in Charlotte the same time as we are.  Our daughter Barbara knows how Gerry enjoys the group, so she and Henry bought tickets to the concert for our birthdays.  Now that is a real birthday gift and we loved the concert.  They also are fans and we met for dinner before the concert.

Our first stop was at Ri Ra Irish Pub for an early dinner and happy hour.  The Pub is just a few blocks from the Time Warner Arena where the concert was being held, so it was very convenient.  We managed to snag a table even though the place was packed.  The food was good, service fine and the place had a great atmosphere.  

Henry & Barb

Ri Ra bar area

 After fortifying ourselves with adult beverages and good food we headed for the Arena in time to be seated.  As you can see by our being bundled up, it was a little chilly out there.

 

Henry, Barb, Gerry & Me.

I made the mistake of pointing out the souvenir stand to Barbara & Gerry and they made a beeline for it.  They had a nice grey hoody and Barbara bought it for Gerry.  You can see them near the post with Gerry having on an aqua jacket.

 

 Henry mentioned to me to bring ear plugs since the group would be loud, very loud.  Since my hearing isn't the greatest, I decided to skip the ear plugs.  I do like my rock music loud and the louder the better.  TSO didn't disappoint me on this issue.

We had great seats next to the stage and had an unobstructed view of the show.  As a matter of fact, when they shot off their flames on stage we could feel the heat.  It's been a while since Gerry and I went to a live concert and the music almost seems secondary to all the lights, fog and fire going off.  It was great!

The bars over the stage all went up once the concert began and even the stage went up and out over the audience.  The photo below shows the guitarists being elevated over the audience.
 

I'm glad we weren't sitting under that giant boom with the fiddle player standing above us.  It looked like an accident waiting to happen, but it worked great.

 Did I mention laser lights, strobes, flashing lights all going off at the same time.  No?  Well they did and it was a sensory overload with the music coming out at 140 decibels.  Great!

 All the musicians seemed to have very long hair and flicking their head back and forth seemed to be an integral part of their act.  It was hard to get a picture of them without hair covering their faces.  They sure could play their guitars and instruments though.

 The theme of the concert was about someone reading letters in the attic about Christmas and the gentleman on stage read passages throughout the concert.  He had a deep voice and did a great job.

The TSO played non-stop for 2 1/2 hours and gave an outstanding concert.  If you haven't ever heard/seen them, I would highly recommend attending one of their concerts.  I know we will be on the lookout in the future for them and put them back on our bucket list of things to do.

TSO donates $1.00 for each ticket to a local charity and a hospital was the recipient for this concert.  They also recruit local musicians to play with them and had 4-5 of them from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.  They took a bow at the concert end.  The music was so loud and booming out there, so it was impossible to pick them out, but I imagine they did a great job.

We reluctantly left our seats at the concert end and made our way back to the parking garage where we paid our $16.00 to park and exited by a rear entrance.  The front entrance was a mess with all the people walking on the street and we quickly made it out the back way.  Then it was a short ride back to the motor home and some relaxation.  I was too tired to blog last night, so this is coming to you a day later.

That was our big adventure for the day.